


Fool's Gold

by writer_steph



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Bisexual Female Character, Disordered Eating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Homophobic Language, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, This is the slowest burn ever but I swear there's eventually going to be smut, Unrequited Love, just in one chapter really and it's not any of the main characters, seriously i promise, weight discussion, yes finally i can add this tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2018-08-12 01:54:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 223,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7915918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer_steph/pseuds/writer_steph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Being the girlfriend of a famous pop star? Amazing, probably</em><br/><em>Being the fake girlfriend of a famous pop star? Anything but</em><br/> <br/>Following her college graduation, with not a teaching job in sight, Kat Hamilton thinks she's hit the jackpot when she's hired on to pose as the fake girlfriend of Niall Horan, one-fifth of One Direction. One year of pretending to be in love with a guy that hates the sight of her won't be great for her ego, but it'll be worth it to pay off her student loans, right? At least he'll be forced to be nice to her in front of the cameras.</p><p>Reality and fiction start to blur, though, the more time that Kat and Niall are required to spend together. Kat's brain knows it's not real--heck, she's got the contract to prove it--but who's going to tell her heart that?</p><p> <br/><em>I'm sure you're thinking 'seriously, ANOTHER fake dating 1D story, doesn't the world have enough of those?' And the answer is, sure, probably. But I wanted one that combined all my fave tropes: fake dating (complete with THERE'S ONLY ONE BED!!!), enemies to friends to lovers, unrequited love, slow burn...and you know what they say, if you don't find the fic you want, write it yourself!</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfic so please be kind! :) Having SO much fun writing it though!!

Prologue

__

_April 2014, Sony Music Offices, Los Angeles_

__

"Ahem."

At the very obvious, very deliberate throat clearing, the quiet chatter and laughter in the boardroom quickly died down, all eyes focused on the man at the head of the table.

"Since it's been awhile since we've all been in one room, could you give us a status update, Tom?" While there wasn't anything overtly impressive about his appearance, Steve Anderson cut an imposing figure at his place of power in the conference room. Although he was smiling slightly, he gave off the impression of a man that didn't suffer fools gladly.

Tom straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat, hoping his nervousness didn't show through as clear as day. He was used to dealing with a variety of influential and important businessmen and women on a daily basis, but this was a boardroom full of such people. Coupled with the fact that he was based out of the UK Syco offices and this was his first trip to the Sony Music offices in Los Angeles, he felt extremely out of his element.

"Yes, well, as you know, the boys have had the last several months off. To keep them in the news, we've had Liam and Sophia do a number of events, with great success. Zayn and Perrie have been keeping a lower profile, but that goes along with their images so there hasn't been much buzz in the fandom about that -- no excess rumors of there being trouble in their relationship, no cheating or break up talk, really. Harry, well, we had good press with him over the holidays with his relationship with Kendall Jenner. As for Louis, we've had some push back from him regarding appearances with Eleanor. While the majority of the fandom loves them as a couple, their general demeanor together has drawn some negative attention. We've talked with him and Harry, both separately and together, and we're hopeful that they're on the same page going forward. Niall was papped with Selena Gomez but nothing serious seems to be happening there. We got a lot of positive press regarding the boys' appearance at the Brits, they were charming really. And Louis and Harry didn't sit by each other, so that was a victory."

Tom took a deep breath and continued, his voice gaining confidence, "The tour starts at the end of this month in South America. The boys are well aware of their responsibilities and how they're supposed to behave on stage. Harry and Louis actually did quite well in this capacity on the last tour so I'm very hopeful that they'll continue their positive behavior once they're back in the routine of the tour schedule. After South America, it's back to Europe, then North America."

"Thank you for that enlightening report, Tom." It was impressive just how much derision a person could pack into such innocuous words. Steve continued, "Even if it contained such a poor reflection of reality." Tom slouched down in his seat, face red, knowing the meeting was only going to get worse for him as Steve began speaking again.

"You know what? Since trying to control those two is failing so miserably -- and it is, Tom, regardless of what bullshit you're trying to sell us right now, we all have working eyes and ears -- we need a different tactic entirely, some bright and shiny thing to distract the fans away from the trainwreck that is Larry Stylinson. Liam and Zayn's PR strategies are holding up decently so let's leave them be. What we need to do is get a relationship going for Niall -- he's 20 now, he's old enough to quit fucking around and show a little stability. Plus, we can pitch it to him as something to up his name recognition, which will happen if we sell it well, and we will sell it well, so clearly Tom isn't going to be handling this one. Ann-Marie, do you have anyone who isn't incompetent working for you?"

Tom wondered if anyone would notice if he just casually disappeared under the table. He decided they probably would, so he was forced to sit there and take the abuse being directed his way by one of the most important people in the music industry. 

"We have a number of highly skilled individuals we could utilize for the task," Ann-Marie Thomson, Syco Records Global Head of Media, replied. "In Tom's defense, however, everyone in this room is aware of just how hard it has been the past few years to handle Louis and Harry, so I don't think we should be overly hard on him for their behavior. That's part of the reason we're involving you all at Sony US at this point, we need outside assistance to manage this. Regardless of what we do with Niall -- and I am very much in favor of your proposal, as is Simon, as we all discussed last week -- we will need to develop some new tactics for managing their behavior. I'd really like everyone to brainstorm on that, and I mean really think outside the box, no idea is too crazy, and we'll touch base on that at our meeting next quarter."

"I like the way you're thinking. So, what angle are we going to take with the girl? Actress? Singer? Model? I'm sure we could find a number of good options if we put out some feelers. I mean, nothing A list given his relatively low celebrity status -- the kid's no Harry Styles -- but certainly some budding talent looking to get herself in the news, stir up some buzz," Dennis, another Sony executive, questioned.

"I think we need to take a different tactic here, something to play to the American teen fanbase. I'm thinking a no one, a pretty-enough face but not too pretty, you know? Someone like them. To drive home the impression that one of them could date the boys," Steve said, looking around the table and getting several nods to his comments.

"I like it, but it isn't nearly so easy to find someone like that -- what's in it for them?" Dennis leaned forward in his chair, intent on their discussion. "Or are you thinking we'll be able to get some totally unknown actress or model and spin her as a student, a la Eleanor? Someone that's looking to become famous? Not that Eleanor has worked all that well, but that's on Louis more than her."

"No, I actually have a perfect candidate in mind. Joe, if you could hand out the packets now? It's my ex-wife's niece -- she's just going to be graduating from college next month and she doesn't have a job lined up yet, but get this, she wants to be an elementary school teacher. Couldn't be more perfect. I had my people do some research -- graduating with honors, did some theater in college so she can act, at least as much as she'll need for this stunt. Wholesome, pretty face, light brown hair and blue gray eyes -- should be a nice combination with Niall -- slim but not too skinny, from Nebraska, how much more girl next door can you get?"

"And you've approached her? She's interested in doing this? Like Dennis asked, what's in it for her?" Ann-Marie asked, flipping through the folder of information she and everyone in the conference room had been given.

"I haven't talked to her about it yet as I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page first. As for what's in it for her, I'm thinking plain and simple money is going to work, coupled with some familial responsibility. Kid went to a private college and her parents don't have a pot to piss in so she's no doubt racked up an immense amount of student loans, likely cosigned by her parents. Which means that they'd be on the hook for all that debt should she not be able to pay them. Why she thought it was a good idea to go to a private school to get her teaching degree is beyond me."

"Anyway, figure if we offer to pay back all her loans, let her start her adult life debt-free, would be a pretty good incentive for her to take this on for a year. Plus, the usual perks of new wardrobe and getting to travel the world and be seen with a world famous boy bander, what's not to like? Plus it's not like Horan's too hard on the eyes, I'm sure she'll love it."

"If we're all in agreement, I'll fly her out here and get her on board, set her up on a one year contract with an option to extend if so desired. We'll plan on sending her out on tour with Niall some time in June, or sooner if needed, depending on how the South American leg of the tour goes, get them photographed on some dates and have Dan Wootton at The Sun do an exclusive on his new girlfriend to get the word out to the fans. Should get picked up by other news outlets after that. We'll play it by ear from then on out, but she'll be pretty much at our disposal for the duration of her contract so we can go as hard as we want selling the story. Knowing how things have gone with the other four the last few years, there are almost certainly going to be instances where we need a diversion, so this new relationship can be used to distract the teenagers at all the right moments."

The meeting moved on to a discussion about logistics and different ideas for how to present the new couple. Tom sat quietly, praying he would make it through the meeting still employed. An hour later, Tom got his wish as the meeting concluded.

As the participants were gathering their materials together and getting ready to leave, Steve stood up and addressed the table. "Thank you everyone for coming today and let me know if you have any further suggestions for PR for this. And let's try not to fuck this one up for once, okay?" 

Tom exhaled and slunk out of the room as quickly as he could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first real chapter! Please let me know if you see any errors as I'd love to fix them. Thanks!

_April 2014, Lincoln, Nebraska_

“Mom, seriously, it’s going to be fine,” Kat Hamilton said, for what had to be the hundredth time, trying to speak calmly. She loosened the tight grip she had on her cell phone, hoping that if she was physically relaxed, it would be reflected in her voice. “A lot of times substitute teachers end up making more than full time teachers. The only con is that I don’t get benefits, but if you don’t mind keeping me on your health insurance for another year, even that isn’t that big of a deal.”

“But you won’t be part of the pension plan, Katherine, so they won’t be putting anything towards your retirement. You should know from listening to your Dad and I talk through the years that that’s the biggest positive of being in education. Although clearly you didn’t listen to anything else we said about being a teacher, or, more precisely, why you shouldn’t be a teacher, so I don’t know why I should expect any different here.” Kat could hear the disapproval in her mom’s tone, although it had such an undercurrent of concern and worry that she couldn’t really feel hurt by it. Her mother was a worrier, plain and simple, always had been, likely always would be. But she really meant well and Kat tried to keep that in mind when she got frustrated with her.

“Wow, Mom, impressive amounts of sarcasm in that last sentence, I’ve taught you well. But listen, it’s only April, there’s still a chance a position will open up over the summer, I know it’s unlikely but these things do happen. I don’t have to start paying back my loans for six months so I should be doing just fine by then. And if worse comes to worst, I can just defer my student loans for awhile, they allow for that when you’re unemployed. A ton of my friends have done it before, it’s really no big deal.”

“But Kat, the interest keeps accruing on those, that’s a terrible idea. If you can’t afford the payments, your dad and I will just handle it, we’ll make it work.”

“Mom, absolutely not. You guys need to keep saving for retirement yourselves, you’re way closer than I am to that, and you’ve got two kids at home still -- I’m sure you’re up to your ears paying for camps and clothes and all that other stuff the girls just have to have at any given time.” 

“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I’m not at all comfortable with the thought of you getting into even more debt when you have so much already. I know I’ve said it before, but I really am sorry that we weren’t able to help you out more with school.” Kat heard the beep indicating an incoming call, but she was fairly certain that cutting off the conversation with her mom at this point would go over like a lead balloon, so she let it roll over to voicemail after checking and not recognizing the phone number. Probably a telemarketer of some sort. 

“You guys did plenty, stop it. I didn’t have to go to Wesleyan, if I’d gone to the university or another state school like you guys pushed me to, I wouldn’t be in nearly this kind of debt. But I thought I was going to be a doctor at that point and I just wasn’t concerned. I appreciate you not saying ‘I told you so’ but I know I did this to myself. But I wouldn’t take back my college experience for anything -- I would have gotten eaten alive at UNL. Moving to Lincoln was intimidating enough without being one of 25,000 students after graduating from high school in a class of 40.”

“Honey, we never told you we were right because I don’t think we were. Wesleyan was a perfect fit for you and we’re so proud of how well you did. I can’t believe you’re going to be graduating next month, my baby…” Kat could hear the tears in her voice now and couldn’t help rolling her eyes even though her mom couldn’t see her. Yes, it was sweet how proud they were of her, of course it was. There were times when being the firstborn was nice but it carried with it a lot of pressure to succeed and set a good example for her two younger sisters. 

“Mom, I know you’re proud of me and I promise, I’m going to continue to make you guys proud of me. Listen, you know I’d prefer to have a job lined up already, but I’ve tried my damnedest and it’s just not happening--the education job market around here is just too tight. But I’m on the sub list for Lincoln Public Schools as well as Norris and Waverly, and if I get my foot in the door at one of those schools, I’ll be in a great position to get a job next year. You know I’m right, you and Dad have seen it a hundred times at your school. And I can always pick up shifts at Risky’s to bring in some extra money along the way.” There was some danger in bringing up her part time job at the local blue collar sports bar as her parents didn’t love her working there (they greatly preferred her job junior and senior years working as a page with the Nebraska Legislature, but as the legislature wasn’t in session year round, she needed another job to give her enough fun money for drinking and shopping), but as money was at issue at the moment, Kat figured it was a good thing to include as a point in her favor.

“Of course, honey. I’m sure everything will be fine. Listen, I’d better let you go, the girls are getting restless and will need dinner soon. Let us know when you hear any more details about graduation next month, I’m having a hard time believing there isn’t more information available yet, it’s less than a month away!”

Kat was fairly certain that she’d received an email outlining in great detail the entire day, but she’d clearly forgotten to pass that along to her parents. No reason for them to know that, on top of the whole unemployed thing, their image of her as the golden child would be tarnished beyond all repair. “I’ll contact the Dean’s office this week and let you know what I find out, I promise. Give my love to Dad and the girls.”

“I will, I love you.”

“Love you too. Bye!” She collapsed back onto her bed, incredibly relieved that the conversation was over, at least for that day.

Kat heard a light tapping on her door. “Come in!”

“So, how did your weekly ‘talk your parents off the ledge’ phone call go?” Her roommate Becca was very familiar with Kat’s struggle with her parents. Not that she could really relate -- not only were her parents much more relaxed in general, she also already had a great job lined up that she was starting immediately following graduation.

“As good as could be expected, I guess. Speaking of phone calls, I almost forgot, I had a call come in while I was on the phone, but I didn’t dare take it.”

“Oh God no, Lynn would have flipped her shit.”

Kat laughed at the image of her mom truly flipping out on her. Yes, Lynn Hamilton was more than a little high strung and yes, she worried about Kat more than was strictly necessary, given Kat hadn’t had so much as a speeding ticket or a grade less than a B in her life, but she loved her daughter and would do absolutely anything for her. 

“Looks like they left a voicemail, do you mind if I check it quick? Otherwise I’ll totally forget.” Kat hated the phone, as a rule, so while she was in phone mode after the conversation with her mom, she figured she might as well deal with it while she was in the right headspace for it.

“No, go ahead. I was going to throw in a frozen pizza, you want?”

“That sounds amazing. We can have salad with it and we’ll practically be eating a balanced meal!” 

After Becca left the room, pulling the door closed behind her, Kat hit play on the message, figuring she’d only have to listen to a moment of it before she could delete.

> _"Hey, Katherine, it’s your Uncle Steve! Give me a call when you get a chance, I got your graduation announcement and am so proud of you! Looking forward to talking with you! My phone number is …”_

It was pretty rich, him calling himself her uncle. I mean, technically yes, he had been married to her mom’s sister but that was at least three marriages ago for him and she hadn’t seen him in a decade at least. He had sent her a nice check for her high school graduation after her mom had forced her to send him an invitation ( _he’s family, divorce or not_ , Lynn had said), but she had figured that was some assistant and had nothing at all to actually do with him.

Figuring there was no time like the present to get the phone call over with, Kat dialed his number.

“Sony Records, how may I help you?”

“Um, can I speak to Steve…” Kat was completely blanking on her uncle’s last name. _Shit, shit, shit, what was it?_ “... Steve, uh, Anderson?”

“Mr. Anderson is in a meeting, can I take a message?” That was a good sign, that while the receptionist’s voice sounded completely brisk, professional, and dismissive, she didn’t say “who?” So presumably Kat got the last name right.

“I’m actually returning his call, I’m his niece, Katherine Hamilton?”

“Oh, of course, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Anderson’s been expecting your call, I’ll put you right through.” There was a marked difference in the woman’s tone now that she realized that Kat wasn’t wasting her time.

That was...unexpected. Wasn’t he in a meeting? Whatever. A moment later, a bright voice came on the line. “Katherine, thank you so much for returning my call!”

“Of course.” Kat searched her brain for a way to politely ask, _I haven’t talked to you in a million years, so why the fuck were you calling me?_ She couldn’t come up with one. “Sorry if I’m interrupting you?”

“Nonsense, nothing more important than talking to you! I was talking to your Aunt Jean the other day and she mentioned that you’ll be graduating soon. Then I got your graduation announcement in the mail and it was just the reminder I needed to figure out your present!”

Kat was shocked to hear that her aunt and uncle were still on speaking terms, from what she knew, they hadn’t had the most amicable of divorces, to put it mildly. She’d never actually heard her aunt talk about Steve without involving several swear words that always had her mother saying “Meredith! Language, the children will hear you!”

“Oh, you don’t have to get me anything! Mom and Dad are just so proud that I’m graduating that they’re sending those announcements out to everyone -- I warned them that it would look like a gift grab! But some etiquette book she read said that mentioning anything about gifts on the invite, even if it was a ‘no gifts, please’ thing, is a huge no-no, I guess? Seriously, this is not a gift giving sort of occasion! I’m sure everyone would love it if you could make it back for the party --” This was a huge lie as Kat was certain her Aunt Jean would spit nails if she saw him and her parents would be so shocked they wouldn’t be able to function -- “but absolutely no gifts are needed.” That part was the truth at least.

“Of course gifts are necessary, it’s a big deal! It’s not every day someone graduates from college! Sadly I’m not going to be able to make it out for your celebration.” _thank God_ , Kat thought. “Instead, I thought I’d fly you out to LA for a weekend, you can bring a friend, make it a fun little pre-graduation girl's getaway! I get a great deal on hotels out here as Sony’s always hosting different people for meetings, so it’d basically be just the cost of flights, so don’t say it’s too much.”

Kat instantly felt terrible about all the unkind thoughts she’d been having about him only moments before. “Oh my God, you don’t have to do that! I just appreciate the call, you really, really don’t have to do anything.”

“Katherine, I insist. Now give me your email address so we can coordinate dates and I can have my assistant send you all the details. Congrats again, kid, I’m proud of you.”

Still in shock, Kat gave him her email address and a promise that she’d get back to him as soon as possible with a time that would work, wrapping up the phone call moments later.

Kat tossed down her phone, then ran down the hall of their apartment, excited to tell Becca about their upcoming trip.

*

“This place is amazing! God, your uncle is the absolute best. How come I’ve never heard you mention him?” Becca flopped back on one of the two fluffy beds as soon as the bellhop left their room.

Kat schlepped her bag over to the closet, tossing it up on the luggage rack that was standing open in there. “Um, because number one, I haven’t seen him in a billion years; and two, he’s actually the literal worst. He cheated on my aunt like mad, I guess. He super sucks. And you’re wrong on the other point as well, you have heard me talk about him -- he works at Columbia or Sony or something, like a really big music label, and I wanted to see if he could get us tickets to that concert we wanted to see that was sold out in two minutes flat -- God, I can’t even remember who it was and it was so important to us at the time -- and he didn’t even return my call. So yeah, I have no idea what this about. I guess I don’t care though because this is heaven.”

She pulled out a few shirts and dresses from her bag and hung them up. “You got stuff to hang up, Becs?” 

“Probably. I’ll get it in a minute, I’m too lazy right now. Ooh, what’s that?” she asked, then completely contradicted herself by jumping out of the bed and darting over to the table in the corner of the room. “Oh my God, champagne! And a goodie basket with all kinds of snacks in it!”

“Crack it open! No time like the present!”

“Hey, there’s a card in the basket with your name on it. Here.” Becca chucked it at her.

“Thanks for handing that to me so nicely. Appreciate it,” Kat said sarcastically as she opened the letter. She chewed her lip as she read the note, shaking her head slowly.

“So?” Becca questioned. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

“It’s from my uncle, he wants me -- just me, apparently -- to come to his office at 1:30, which gives me,” she looked over at the clock. “A whopping hour to get myself together. It’s not really phrased as a request either, like a ‘stop by if you’re free.’ It’s more like a summons. Ugh. Sorry, Bec, this will delay our sightseeing for a bit but I’m sure it won’t take long.”

“No biggie, wonder what it’s about though?”

“I honestly cannot even imagine what he could possibly want from me, but I’m not surprised, in a way. I don’t think he ever does anything without expecting something in return. Maybe he just wants to catch up on the family gossip? Guess I’ll know soon enough. I’m going to go jump in the shower, you cool?”

“Yep, go ahead. I’ll shower and get ready when you’re gone. How are you going to get there? Or is his office close?”

“He’s sending a car for me, actually.”

“Oooh, fancy, fancy!”

“I’m going to get spoiled! I could totally get used to all of this.” Kat walked into the bathroom, then popped her head back out. “Put that champagne in the mini fridge, you’re so not drinking that without me. Don’t give me that look, you know you would have done it.” She dodged the shoe Becca threw in her direction, laughing as she darted back to the safety of the bathroom.

*

Kat couldn’t help but be impressed by the Sony Music building. The lobby was several stories high, with curved glass windows that let in the California spring sunlight. Everything was light and bright and just felt impossibly cool to a small town Midwestern girl. Kat made every effort to not actually gape as she looked around before finding the bank of elevators that would take her to her uncle’s fourth floor office.

When she arrived on the correct floor, she gave her name to the receptionist, who ushered her in immediately to see her uncle. 

“There she is! The almost college graduate!”

The man in front of her looked very little like what she’d remembered--her hazy memories of him had him looking like your typical uncle: slightly pudgy, unfortunate hair, dad wardrobe, etc. But the 50 something year old in front of her was fit and slick looking, impeccably dressed and sporting a light tan. There was something about his eyes that was still familiar though, which gave her some sort of comfort. He pulled her in for a brief hug.

“Hi, how are you?” she said, feeling beyond awkward.

“I’m excellent, so glad to have you here. You look absolutely fantastic, so grown up.” He walked around his huge desk, gesturing for her to have a seat in one of the leather chairs set up in front of it. 

“Yeah, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it? I’m sure I looked a lot different back then, all buck teeth and bangs.” She looked around his office, appreciating the view out the massive windows. She noticed several framed pictures on the bookcases that warranted a closer look -- was that Steve and Michael Jackson???

“Nonsense, you were adorable then and you’re adorable now.” He was smooth, she’d give him that. Too smooth. Kat had seen pictures of herself as a preteen -- there was nothing adorable about her. Even her parents now referred to that time period as ‘her rough patch,’ although they were nothing but encouraging about her looks at the time. Braces had solved the tooth issue and the bangs had resolved themselves when hairstyles had changed. Thankfully. 

“Sit, sit. Can I get you something to drink? Water, soda, scotch, anything?”

Kat laughed. “Feels a bit early for scotch, but a pop would be great. Do you have Coke?”

“We sure do, just a minute.” He pressed a button on his desk. “Sharon, can you bring Kat and I a couple of Cokes? Thank you.”

They chatted about the weather and her flight for a few moments until his assistant brought their drinks in. 

As the other woman left the room, Steve began speaking, “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to come by today.”

“Kind of.” Thank God he was finally getting to it, Kat’s anxiety was growing by the minute.

“I actually have a business proposition for you.”

“Okay. Wait, you do know I’m an elementary education major right? So unless you’ve started a school, I’m probably not super useful to you,” Kat joked, feeling super uncomfortable all of a sudden. The word ‘proposition’ felt vaguely sexual to her and she was reminded that they weren’t actually related by blood and that perhaps this whole trip was an elaborate seduction attempt. His hug hadn’t felt like that of a creeper, but she could have been wrong. She felt sick to her stomach.

“I’m not sure how much you know about what I do at Sony?”

Kat felt a bit better that he was talking about his actual job, she might have been freaking out for no reason. Relieved, she replied, “I can honestly say I know nothing about what you do, nor what Sony Music does, really. I’m a huge music fan but I don’t know the business side at all. I’m assuming you sign bands and help promote them, right? I know I’m massively oversimplifying things, you can tell me I’m an idiot.”

“No, no, you’ve got the right of it. The promo part includes a lot more than you might imagine. Beyond advertising and helping with social media and things like that, we also help them with their images. Because that plays hugely into record sales.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” Kat was wondering what the fuck this all had to do with her, with anything at all.

“Everything plays into image, absolutely everything. And, so, to do this job in the best way possible, what we do is attempt to control everything.” Clearly sensing her unease, he paused, then said, “I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with you.”

“Am I that transparent?” Kat laughed.

“You’ve had a million different expressions cross your face in the last couple of minutes, very few of them positive. I’ll put you out of your misery soon, I promise. I don’t want to ruin your illusions regarding Hollywood or celebrities in general, but would it shock you if I told you that many, if not most, of the dating relationships in this sphere are primarily based on promotion?”

“Not really. I mean, I haven’t really put that much thought into the subject, but, sure, a lot of celebrity couples don’t seem legit. Like when two actors date during the filming and promotion of a movie, then mysteriously break up when all of that is over.”

“Yes, exactly. That’s a perfect example. Relationships can also be used as a diversion -- if there’s something messy or undesirable happening in a celebrity’s personal life, a well-timed romance can draw attention away from it.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” While this was all interesting she still had no clue what he wanted from her.

“Are you familiar with the band One Direction?” he asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Kind of? My little sisters are obsessed with them and I like some of their stuff I’ve heard on the radio but I wouldn’t say I’m a fan, really. I only really know that Harry guy from the band, the one that dated Taylor Swift, right?”

“That’s the one. What would you say if I told you I want you to date one of the band’s members, strictly for promotional purposes?”

“Harry?” Kat squeaked, trying to imagine in what world that Taylor Swift and she would date the same person.

“No, not Harry. Niall Horan.”

“I feel like a jerk, but I don’t know who that is?”

“It really doesn’t matter, you don’t need to know him yet.”

“I don’t get it, why does he need a fake girlfriend? I’m sure he can do just fine for himself, he’s in a boy band. Wait, is he gay?”

Steve burst into laughter, perhaps more than was warranted by her comment. “No, he’s not gay. We just think he could use some positive press, raise his profile a bit. You not knowing who he is is a perfect example of how little press and name recognition he’s getting currently. Dating a nice, normal -- and by that I mean, not a celebrity -- girl from Nebraska will play very well in the media, as well as with the fan base.”

“How do you know I’m not a total train wreck? We haven’t exactly kept in close contact--like we were just talking about, I haven’t seen you in years.”

“We have private investigators on retainer, they’ve already thoroughly vetted you and you’re perfect for the job. And it would be a job. And as such, you would be well compensated for your time. In addition to having any and all travel expenses covered for you, as well as a generous allowance and company credit card for clothing and other personal maintenance expenses, at the completion of your one year contract, Sony will pay off your existing student loan balances.”

Kat’s jaw dropped. “What? Are you kidding me? You do realize I went to a private school, right? I have a shit ton of debt, pardon my language.”

He laughed. “We’re aware of that. We think you’re worth it, though. And as my niece, I can tell you, it does my heart good to think of you being able to let go of the burden of student loans before you even truly enter the workforce. It’s an opportunity not many people have, including myself. It took me a couple of decades to pay mine off, and that was with some help from my parents.”

Bringing up parents reminded Kat of how stressed her mom was about her current lack of steady employment. This would certainly solve that concern. But what would her mom think about her getting paid to ‘date’ someone? She doubted she’d approve of that--no, scratch that, Kat was certain that she wouldn’t. 

“What would I tell my parents?” she asked.

“Well, your contract would have a non-disclosure clause -- it’s essential that no one know that this isn’t a real relationship. If you’d like, we can allow for you to have one person that you’re able to speak to about this, most people find it useful to have at least one individual that knows what’s going on. I imagine for you it might be your roommate that you brought with?”

Kat nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts a million miles away. This was totally crazy. Just totally fucking nuts. But it was so much money. And would it be that hard? She was a decent enough actress, as long as the guy wasn’t a total prick, she was sure that she could do a good enough job of seeming like they were truly dating. 

“So how would this all work? I’d just go with him to a couple of events, or on a few dates, and get photographed? Is that enough to convince people we’re in a relationship?”

“It would be quite a bit more involved than that, which is why it’s so perfect that you don’t have a job lined up yet following graduation. The band is starting their world tour this month--they’ll be in South America for a few weeks, then over to the UK and Europe. We’d have you meet up with them at some point after your graduation, in June most likely. You’d go on a series of public dates with Niall, get lots of pictures taken, a few articles written about your relationship, and go to all of their concerts. How long you’d stay with the tour would be determined by a variety of factors, many beyond your control. You’d get to come home periodically, of course, but I have to be very honest with you -- you’d be our employee, so we’d have complete control over your schedule, so there might be times that we’d need you to do things or events that we hadn’t originally discussed and you would be expected to be there. I don’t want you to have unrealistic expectations about what this would entail. I wouldn’t say it’s hard work, precisely, but it will likely be very time consuming.”

“Where will I stay? I don’t have to share a room with him, will I?”

“No, of course not. There possibly could be situations where you’d have to stay in the same hotel suite, but you’d both have your own beds if that were the case. And as for any further intimacy, in case you feel too awkward about it to ask --” sweet Jesus, she hadn’t even thought about that part, “-- we may require you to kiss or hold hands, but that would be infrequent and be fairly chaste -- similar to things you’ve likely done in theater productions.”

“You really do know everything about me, don’t you?”

“It’s what we do.” He smiled at her reassuringly.

“Is he okay with all this? I mean, he wants to do it?” Kat was somewhat embarrassed that it had taken her this long to even think about his feelings on the subject, but she was seriously overwhelmed and not thinking very clearly.

“He understands the value in it, yes,” Steve replied, his choice of words interesting to Kat. Hm. _That would bear some reflection later_ , she thought.

“My head is swimming, it’s a really great offer but I just don’t know. Can I think about it a bit?” While she felt completely shocked by it all, her uncle acted as though it were an everyday occurrence for him. Although she supposed that if everyone in the industry did stuff like this, it probably really wasn’t a big deal to them. 

“Of course, but we do need a response from you fairly quickly, we’d really like to proceed with this as soon as possible. I’m afraid all I can give you is 24 hours, will that be enough?”

“Yeah, should be. And I can talk about it to Becca? I really need a sounding board, I think.”

“Of course you do. And yes, I’ll have you sign a very basic non-disclosure regarding our conversation before you leave today, but we can make an addendum that states that you’re allowed to discuss this with her. But, again, even if you decide against taking the job -- although I very much hope you do take it -- you cannot disclose what we’ve discussed today, ever. Or Sony could sue you for violating the agreement and believe you me, you do not want that to happen.”

“I can’t even imagine. And I understand, absolutely. No one would believe me anyway, honestly.” Kat shook her head. “I don’t really believe it and I was here for the whole discussion.”

“If you don’t have any more questions, I can let you go -- Sharon will have the paperwork for you to sign, just write in a note about being able to talk to your friend and initial it and I’ll do the same when I sign. She’ll also have a copy of the contract for you to look over, but keep it in a safe location, okay?”

“Sure.”

“I have a car assigned to you for the weekend, feel free to take it wherever you and your friend need to go. Consider it a preview of what your life will be like if you sign the contract.” He smiled at her warmly.

Kat stood up to leave, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Just before she left the room, she turned back. “Are you quite certain he’s not gay? Because I wouldn’t even consider doing this if he is and doesn’t want to be in the closet, that’s just wrong. No one should have to hide that.”

A look Kat couldn’t decipher crossed his face. “I assure you, Kat, he’s not gay. He’s dated plenty of women, just none that have been right to push from a promo standpoint. And honestly real relationships are a mess, from a label standpoint, too much is out of our control. That’s where you come in.”

Something about his words bothered her, but she was reassured that she wouldn’t be closeting someone against his will. “Okay, cool. I’ll just plan on talking to you tomorrow. Regardless of what I decide, thank you so much for the offer, it really does seem like a once in a lifetime kind of thing. This doesn’t feel like real life.”

“It’s very real, Kat, just not a side of celebrity that many people are privy to. I look forward to hearing from you; you girls have fun tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is "Queen of California" by John Mayer
> 
> Kudos/comments would be very welcomed, thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Niall meet...

Kat was in a fog from the moment she left her uncle’s office. She signed the necessary paperwork and received her copy of the contract, but it was like she was having an out of body experience -- she could see herself doing those things, then getting into the car and being taken back to her hotel, but she didn’t feel like it was something she herself was actually doing.

It took her five tries to successfully use the key card in their hotel door. That actually wasn’t too far off from her typical competence with the damn things, so she was fairly pleased by it.

“Jesus, there you are, took you long enough!” Becca shouted at her from her position lounging on one of the beds. She sat up when she got a look at Kat’s face, her concern evident. 

“I’m okay, don’t look at me like that. I’m just … processing everything,” Kat muttered, waving her arms.

“Tell me what happened and we can process together.”

Kat plopped down next to Becca and went through the details of the completely surreal meeting she’d just came from, trying to remember it all. 

“What happens if you say no? Do you have to pay him back for this trip? Will he cancel our flights home?” Leave it to Becca to get right to the heart of the matter.

“Becca, he isn’t some sort of cartoon villain, he’s not sitting somewhere twirling his evil mustache. I’m sure he’ll be pissed but he has to know there’s a good chance I’ll say no. That’s just the cost of doing business I guess.”

“So, not to be all ‘why you’, but seriously, why you? Why not some other celebrity?” Becca turned onto her side, leaning up on her elbow, and stared over at Kat.

“I asked that too, guess they wanted someone that would look good to all their young fans. I didn’t think about the celebrity part specifically, but he kind of touched on it, saying a normal person would appeal to the fans more than a famous person. Which makes sense, I guess. I think they want someone where the fans could imagine it could be them at some point. And you don’t get anymore ‘every girl’ than me, I guess.”

“Katherine, I love you, but this is not the time for self deprecation.”

“You’re right, it’s just hard to tamp down something that’s so essential to my character,” Kat joked then let out a huge sigh. “Fuck this, let’s go take advantage of having a free car -- did I mention that we have a car at our disposal this entire time? No uber necessary for us! -- and get our tourist on. I want to do every cheesy out-of-towner thing we can think of. Let’s go to the Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, then do some shopping down there? Or maybe we should Pretty Woman it up and hit Rodeo Drive!”

“I’m not feeling up to the dirty looks we would surely get if we go in all those frou-frou stores, thank you very much. Maybe after you’re the girlfriend of a famous rock star and aren’t wearing $20 jeans from Target.”

“Hey, I like these! And I thought we were done talking about this for today!” Kat fake pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. 

“I’m not judging, you know I have the same pair. Okay, let’s get a move on. Call up that driver of yours, Miss Not-So-Fancy Pants.”

*

Hours later, as they clambered into the car after some shopping at Hollywood and Highland, Kat’s stomach growled loudly, causing both of them to crack up.

“I need food, clearly,” Kat said, patting her tummy and laughing.

“Didn’t we pass a California Pizza Kitchen somewhere? I love that place, we could just eat there,” Becca suggested with a shrug.

“Becca, we have that in Omaha, we’re not eating anywhere we can eat at home. Sheesh." Becca rolled her eyes at Kat's dramatics. "Maybe we can find an In-n-Out? I’d kill for a burger right about now.”

Their driver cleared his throat from the front of the car. “Excuse me for interrupting, ladies, but Mr. Anderson asked me to make reservations for you at Ink, one of the best restaurants in this area. Does that sound alright to you? He’ll be picking up the tab, of course.”

Kat and Becca looked at each other, trying to communicate without speaking. But not particularly well. After a couple of seconds of not quite understanding what exactly Becca wasn’t saying, Kat whispered to her, “I bet he can just expense it, let’s do it.”

“Are we okay in what we’re wearing?” Kat asked the driver.

“Absolutely. Most places in LA are pretty casual and you two look great.”

“Sure, we’re in. Drive on, Jeeves. I mean, please take us there, Randy. Thanks.” 

*

Midway through dinner, Kat couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Look, I know I said we wouldn’t keep talking about this but I suddenly just thought of something: should I be offended that Uncle Steve just assumed I was single? I mean, for all he knew, I could have been in a serious relationship!”

“But you ARE single,” Becca pointed out, unhelpfully, as she continued to eat her meal.

“Uh, yeah, but he shouldn’t have just counted on that! He didn’t even ask. Jerk.” She forked up another bite of her entree. “This is insanely good, you’ve got to try this.”

Becca ate the bite Kat held out to her. “Oh my God, you’re so right, that’s amazing. Okay, now that we’re talking about it, don’t you think it’ll be the most awkward thing ever to fake date someone? Besides the obvious, you’ll probably have to meet so many new people all the time, which is pretty much my worst nightmare. Nothing but small talk.” She shivered dramatically.

Kat shrugged. “I like meeting people and while I’m no huge fan of small talk, I’m pretty comfortable with it. I worry more about having to talk to Niall regularly, if I’m honest. It’s one thing to have to chat with someone for a short period of time but to have an ongoing non-relationship relationship with a person for an entire year ... that’s going to be weird. Hopefully we can just get to a place where we’re friends and it’ll be no big deal.”

“Friends that kiss. Maybe you guys will fall in love,” Becca teased. “Wait, what does he even look like, do you know?”

“I don’t think I know which one he is -- my sisters have posters all over their room but I’ve never really looked at them individually. I remember seeing all those pictures of Harry when he and Taylor Swift dated a while ago, so I definitely know him. And he’s a fox. They’re all pretty hot, if I remember right. I’m not going to Google him until I’ve made my decision, I don’t want his appearance to factor into this. Honestly, it’d be better if I wasn’t attracted to him at all. I don’t need to torture myself by falling for some dude that I have no chance with. You know how easy I fall in like.”

“You do get smitten pretty quickly but you’re over it just as fast. A person so much as eats their food the wrong way and you’re over them. Thank goodness you’re not so picky when it comes to friends.” Becca purposely chewed with her mouth open, trying to gross Kat out.

“Please stop, I’m not going to look at you again until you promise to stop doing that.” Kat stared down at her plate. 

“I’m done, I’m done,” Becca said, laughing.

“Thank God. And I’m not as bad as all that. I get over crushes super quickly but in real relationships, I’m a lot more easy going.”

Becca snorted.

“Hey. You’ve only seen me with Chloe, really, so you can’t really judge.” Kat’s only real relationship in college had ended over a year ago, fairly amicably. For a break up, anyway. 

“You know what? You’re right. And actually, with Chloe, if anything, you put up with too much," Becca said thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?” 

“She wasn’t always that nice to you. I mean, I get that she was a sarcastic, jokey kind of person but a lot of her humor really cut you down. It didn’t seem to phase you but I didn’t really like it.”

“You’ve never told me that before!” Kat was shocked, she didn’t think there was anything that she and Becca couldn’t talk about.

Becca shrugged. “Like I said, you seemed okay with it. I think there was a part of her that thought you were too good for her, maybe even subconsciously, so she was trying to bring you down so you didn’t realize that and leave her. Which you eventually did.”

“We didn’t break up because I thought I was better than her! I just felt like we weren’t on the same page at some point, like it didn’t really make sense to me anymore for us to just be together because it was easy and comfortable. I don’t want or need fireworks 24/7 but I want to be with someone that I can see myself with long term. And I just couldn’t see that with her. But not because she was a snot sniffer or because I thought I was better than her. It just really wasn’t there.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Becca sat down her fork and narrowed her eyes, looking closely at Kat. “You’re going to do it, aren’t you?”

“Whoa, serious topic change there.” Kat groaned, putting her face in her hands. “But yeah, I think so. It’s probably the worst idea ever but I just don’t feel like I can pass this up. Otherwise I’ll be kicking myself in 20 years when I’m still paying on my stupid fucking student loans. Am I an idiot, Becca?”

“Nah, it’s a ton of money. And not really all that hard of work when you think about it. I’m sure it’ll suck at times but I think you can handle it. I’ll miss you though.”

“God, I’ll miss you too. It’ll be so weird doing all these things and seeing all these new places without you. I’m going to be so lonely, I bet. Maybe you can come visit sometimes? Although I guess I don’t even know for sure how much I’ll actually have to be with him -- maybe I’ll just pop in and get some pictures taken then get to go back home. I really have no idea.”

After the servers cleared their table at the end of the meal, Becca asked, “So what’s up next for tonight, what do you want to do?” 

“I’m just so drained, so mentally exhausted that I’d really just rather go home right now. Is that okay? I know we should hit the town but I’m just not feeling it at all. We could do that tomorrow night instead? Let’s just grab a six pack on the way home and watch something on the free HBO, how’s that for a proposition for you?” 

“That sounds great to me. I’m dragging too, flying always does that to me. Plus I pretty much just ate my weight at this meal so I’m in dire need of some stretchy pants and a bed.”

“It’s a date then!”

*

“Did you girls have a fun day yesterday?” Steve asked Kat, after he’d hugged her and ushered into a seat. When she’d called first thing in the morning, figuring that as she’d made her decision, she might as well get everything formalized, he’d asked her to come in at 10 to let him know what she’d decided.

“We did, thank you so much for the reservations. That was without a doubt the best restaurant I’ve ever been to.”

“Of course, I’m glad you enjoyed it. So, let’s cut to the chase -- what’s your decision?” he asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“Yes?” Kat meant for that to sound more certain, so she tried again. “Yes.” There. Better.

“Excellent. I was hoping you would say that. In fact, I was so hopeful that Niall is actually here right now, discussing this as well as a few other things with some of our employees that handle One Direction promotion. Would you like to meet him?

“Now?” Kat squeaked. It hadn’t crossed her mind that he might be there, she was thinking that she would have until May or June to prepare herself for this meeting. She looked down at her scrubby shorts and t-shirt, wishing she’d dressed up a bit more.

“I’ll go grab him and give you guys a few minutes while I finalize your contract. We’ll talk some more specifics after that’s done. Also, are you a fan of Bruce Springsteen?”

“Um, of course, who isn’t?” Kat should be used to the way he jumped around in his conversations but this felt like a complete non sequitur. 

Steve laughed. “Likely a lot of people your age don’t even know who he is so I’m glad to hear you’re not one of them. We’re going to send you and your friend to the concert here in town tonight, Niall will be attending as well so you can spend a bit of time together. I imagine you’ll get photographed by a few fans which will be a good basis for when and where you two met.”

“Okay,” Kat said, dazed. This was all happening a bit too fast for her to process. She watched helplessly as her uncle hustled out of the room, a huge grin on his face. At least someone was happy about this whole situation.

_I have no idea what this guy even looks like,_ Kat suddenly realized, in a panic. With everything going on, she’d completely forgot to Google which of the five (there were five weren’t there? Didn’t boy bands always have five members?) One Direction members was Niall. 

She didn’t have long to freak out though, as Sharon opened the door just then. And following her was a put together looking young man, his dyed blond hair swooped over to the side in the front, the sides a light brown/dark blonde fairly similar to her own, his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses. Kat thought that maybe she would have recognized him as someone famous had their paths crossed elsewhere, but she wasn’t sure she would have correctly placed him in One Direction. 

“Niall Horan, this is Katherine Hamilton. Katherine, Niall. I’ll leave you two to talk.” And with that, Sharon was gone.

Kat stood up and nervously wiped her hands on her shorts before she stuck one out. “Uh, hi. I’m Ka-”

He pulled off his sunglasses before shaking her hand, cool blue eyes looking her over disinterestedly. “Kate, I heard. Listen, I’m sure you’re a lovely person and all that, and I’m not trying to be an arse but you’ll forgive me if I don’t want to be best mates with ya. You do your job and I’ll do mine and we’ll get along just fine. I guess we’re going to this concert tonight, but we’re just going to meet there, yeah?” Kat had to concentrate to understand his -- Irish? Scottish? -- accent but she was fairly sure she’d caught most of what he’d said.

“Yes? I’m excited to see the Boss, have you seen him before?”

He looked amused by her excitement. “I have, a few times. Puts on a good show. If that’s all, I’ll just plan on seeing ya there then.” And with that, a mere couple dozen words exchanged with the person she was supposed to be ‘dating’ for the next year, he left the room.

“That went well.” Kat said, outloud, to herself, like a totally crazy person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "West Coast" by Lana Del Rey


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kat and Niall hang out

Kat didn’t have long to stress about her dismal first meeting with Niall as a whirlwind of activities commenced shortly thereafter. Her uncle came back in, along with a couple of Sony attorneys and they painstakingly went through the contract with Kat before she signed, although, even with all that, there was a lot about it that made Kat’s eyes glaze over. 

She also got a crash course on media training from some other employees with important but made-up sounding job titles. Kat had to give them the logins for her social media accounts and received strict instructions regarding what she was and was not to post.

As if that wasn’t uncomfortable enough, they then all scrolled through her Twitter and Instagram together (they said she could keep her Facebook private, so there wasn’t as much need to clean that up, not that she used it all that much anyway) in order to ensure there wasn’t anything that would reflect poorly on her or on Niall but thankfully they didn’t have to delete anything -- Kat had always been careful about what she’d posted as she knew that schools would often check individual’s social media accounts when they were vetting teaching applicants during the hiring process. 

One of the women told Kat that she’d be told regularly to post things about and/or with Niall in them in order to increase the credibility of their relationship. They went through a number of different celebrities’ Instagram accounts to see how they shared relationship information as examples of stuff her and Niall might do. Kat was tempted to ask how many of those relationships were a sham as well but she bit her tongue. No reason to be a wise ass, she decided, they were just all doing their jobs.

Plus, she really wasn’t in a position to judge at the moment.

*

Later that evening, after a fun day spent in Santa Monica together (all the “new job” -- as Kat was choosing to think of it, to create some sense of normalcy about the whole situation -- stuff only took a couple of hours), Kat looked at Becca, who was just finishing getting all done up and ready for the concert. _He’s going to wish he was fake dating her instead of me_ , she thought glumly. Becca was gorgeous -- beautiful coffee-with-just-a-touch-of-milk colored skin, curly black hair, a megawatt smile, and striking blue eyes (that their color came from the colored contacts she wore made them nonetheless gorgeous). She was also a fuck-ton of fun and brilliant and Kat had long since overcome her feelings of inadequacy when compared to Becca, as she’d have to be an idiot to let a wee bit of insecurity stand between her and the best possible friend she or anyone could ever have. It didn’t mean those sneaky feelings didn’t come creeping out occasionally. 

Kat mentally shook herself. Seriously, what did she care about who this guy would rather date? Their whole relationship wasn’t based on mutual attraction or shared interests or any of the normal things that cause people to couple up, it was a business arrangement, pure and simple. And even if Kat had turned down the job, it’s not as though Becca would have taken it -- she had her dream job lined up and was unlikely to risk it by taking a year off to be a part of a sham celebrity relationship. Even without the job, Becca didn’t need the money like Kat did -- Becca’s family was well off and had funded her entire college education so no 30 year loan repayment plans for her.

Once they were both ready, both dressed fairly casually in jeans and cute t-shirts, their driver picked them up again and took them to the Staples Center where the concert was being held. Along with hundreds of other concert goers, they joined the flow of people into the venue, feeling the excitement of the evening. 

“Should we get beers?” Becca asked as they passed a concession stand.

“Let’s just go in and find our spots first, okay? I’m a bit anxious about this whole thing, I have no idea where he’s supposed to be sitting, what if we don’t find him?” Kat said, her voice revealing how worked up she was.

“I’m sure they’ve got it all set up, Kat, quit stressing,” Becca said, reassuringly. 

“Easier said than done,” Kat huffed.

They walked around the venue until they found the right entrance for their tickets, and quickly made their way to their seats. Niall wasn’t there yet but Kat was trying to remain calm -- they were pretty early. Their seats were good, on the floor, about midway back from the stage. The area was sort of set apart from the rest of the seating and Kat wondered if it was a special celebrity and/or other important people section. But there were a few people sitting there already and Kat didn’t recognize any of them, so that theory could be wrong.

Kat’s anxiety continued to climb as the venue filled up and there was still no sign of Niall. When the lights went down, indicating that the band would be on imminently, she looked over at Becca, a panicked look on her face. 

Becca rubbed her hand on Kat’s back. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon. And if he isn’t, it’s not your problem. You’re where you’re supposed to be and that’s all you can control. Just try to relax.”

Kat and Becca screamed along with the rest of the crowd when Bruce and the E Street Band took the stage. They began playing a song that Kat didn’t recognize but that didn’t stop her from dancing around next to Becca. She loved live music and she was determined to enjoy the show no matter what. 

Two songs in, Niall suddenly appeared beside her, looking even more handsome than she’d remembered from earlier. “Sorry ‘m a bit late, wanted to say hi to Bruce and the band before the show started.”

“You met Bruce Springsteen?” Kat squeaked. 

“Yeah, good guy.” He stood next to her in silence for a moment, both hands tucked into his pockets. Though he was 12 inches away from her at that moment, his casual mention of hanging out with the Boss was a great reminder that their lives were a million miles apart.

Trying to behave normally, she introduced Niall and Becca and they shook hands in front of her and smiled at each other briefly, small talk impossible given their surroundings. Kat appreciated the fact that he was being polite to her friend, though.

As the band launched into the next song, Niall leaned over and asked her a question, his breath warm against her ear as she turned her head to hear him better in the loud venue.

Kat was glad he was speaking to her. She really was. But she couldn’t understand a fucking word he was saying. His accent -- which, thanks to the Internets, she now knew was Irish -- coupled with the loud music made it impossible for her to know what he had said.

“Uh huh.” Kat figured a nice neutral answer that could be either be taken as an affirmative or negative would work perfectly. Her plan must not have worked that well because he gave her a strange look. Must not have been a yes or no question, then. Rats. 

Kat knew there was only one thing that would make this situation slightly more tolerable and that was alcohol. When the band’s next song was unfamiliar to her, she decided to seize the moment.

“Do you want me to get you a beer? I’m going to go get one for Becca and me.”

He looked a little surprised that she’d asked. “That would be great.” He reached into his pocket. “Here, let me give ya some money.”

“No worries, I’ve got it. Becs, wanna come with to help carry?”

“Sure.”

After they’d squeezed by Niall and made their way to the concession stand, Becca commented, keeping her voice down so no one could overhear her,“I think you shocked the hell out of him by not expecting him to pay for the beers. He’s probably got people mooching off him right and left.”

“I bet you’re right. But you know me, I hate owing people anything, money in particular. And there’s no sense in letting him do it now, I’m not going to have him buying me everything for the next year. It’s bad enough that I’m basically getting paid to hang out with him, he doesn’t need to spend his own money on me.”

“I don’t think he’s hurting for money, Kat,” Becca said.

“That’s irrelevant. It’s the principle of the thing.” Seeing the merchandise booth, Kat squealed, “Oh my God, I so want a shirt, do you mind if we stop?”

“No, I want one too!”

As they waited in the short line, Becca said, “You guys talked some, so that’s encouraging, right?”

“I couldn't understand half of what he was saying! It was so loud and his accent was so thick! I'm actually surprised he even bothered, I was wondering if we'd go an entire year without speaking to each other.”

“No such luck, huh?”

“God no, I’d hate it if he never spoke to me, can you imagine how lonely that would be? I mean, I doubt we’re going to become best friends but it would be nice if we at least somewhat got along and liked each other. Not sure that’s going to happen though, he seems super pissed about the whole situation.”

“He seemed happy enough tonight,” Becca said, then looked at Kat with a twinkle in her eye. “He’s certainly not hard on the eyes.”

Kat saw no reason to fight that obvious truth. “That he isn’t. Just my fucking luck.”

Ten minutes later, wallets significantly lighter, the two women made their way back into the arena with their new shirts slung over their shoulders (a serious con of their small purses, nowhere to tuck any concert purchases), Kat carefully holding both her and Niall’s beers. 

“There you go. I didn’t think to ask you what kind of beer you wanted, although I guess I had no idea what they had anyway. So I got a Shock Top and a Stella, I like them both so you can have your choice.”

“I’ll take the Stella, thanks. ‘Preciate it.”

“Welcome.” Kat realized that if she really concentrated, she could understand him pretty well. _So maybe just the one beer tonight, then_.

After a few songs without speaking and feeling increasingly uncomfortable by the minute, Kat finally asked him, “Could we get a picture together? I won’t post it or anything but I’m thinking it might help if my parents don’t believe we’re actually dating. With a picture I could prove I’ve met you, at the very least.”

“Ya won’t tell 'em the truth? I’m sure ya could get that negotiated into your contract if ya wanted to,” Niall asked, his tone curious but not unkind. 

“Honestly, I don’t think they could get their heads around this. The idea of someone fake dating someone else is completely beyond them. I don’t want their heads to explode -- it might wreck their entire worldview. To be as dramatic as possible about it.”

Niall gave her a side eye, then took a huge slug of his beer. Kat followed suit, cursing herself for not trying to hide her weird a bit better. She knew it didn’t really matter what he thought of her, but she’d always had an unhealthy need to be liked, apparently even by prickish pop stars that loathed the sight of her.

Kat waited a couple of minutes, hoping he’d remember but when he didn’t, she was forced to ask, “So ... about that picture?”

“Oh, shit, yeah, we can do that. Gimme your phone.” He bent over and put his beer on the floor beside him.

“Oookay.” Kat handed him her iPhone and he quickly opened her camera and flipped it to the front view camera. She couldn't help but be impressed by his efficiency.“Not your first time doing this, huh?”

“I take a lot of pride in me selfie work. Y’ready?’

“Sure,” she replied, nervously smoothing down her hair. Niall put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side, then snapped a couple of pictures of the two of them, smile firmly in place. He handed the phone back to her, then leaned down and grabbed his beer again. “One of those should work.”

Kat looked through the pics, he looked perfect in all of them and she looked slightly dazed. Which she supposed worked for the story they were selling.

To Kat’s surprise, he kept his arm around her, resting his hand on her hip as he sipped his beer, bopping quietly to the music. 

If Kat thought she had been uncomfortable before, she was positively in hell now. She held as still as possible, not even able to enjoy the amazing music surrounding her. She understood why he as doing it, as it would fit the narrative for anyone that had noticed him in the crowd with her, but that didn’t make her feel any better about the whole thing. Her discomfort must have been obvious to him as he didn’t keep his hand there for long, removing it to rub the back of his head and returning it to his pocket when he was done. Kat’s waist felt warm from where his arm had touched her, though, long after he’d removed it.

Kat’s beer disappeared in record time. She was dying, it was so strange to be at a concert with someone she didn’t know very well so she couldn’t express her excitement about every song choice. Plus she felt like she really had to tamp back her usual bellowing of all the lyrics, as Niall surely wouldn’t be impressed by her voice. Luckily she had Becca so she could at least talk to someone about how incredible the concert was. She did exchange a few words here and there with Niall, although she felt incredibly awkward every time she did.

An example of the scintillating dialogue between them:

> _“Did you know Bruce Springsteen has an album called_ Nebraska _?” Kat said, trying her damnedest to make conversation and be interesting._
> 
> _“I think I did know that, yeah,” he replied, looking at her curiously. “I don’t know if I’ve listened to it though.”_
> 
> _“It’s kind of a downer, but it’s great,” Kat replied. She could feel his gaze still on her, heating her face. Why was he still looking at her, wtf? Oh Jesus. She blurted, finally figuring out that he had zero clue why she would be bringing that up, “I’m from Nebraska, that’s why I asked.”_
> 
> _“Oh,” Niall replied, which was as good of a response that Kat have hoped for, with the material she was giving him to work with._

She quit really trying after that, which was probably for the best.

After what felt like years, the concert ended. “Alright, I’ll just plan on seeing ya some time next month, yeah? Was nice to meet ya, Becca.” He leaned over Kat and gave Becca another handshake, then dropped a quick kiss on Kat’s cheek. And then he was gone.

Looking at Kat’s face, Becca laughed. “Oh boy, are you in trouble.”

“Just shut it, Becca.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen, naturally ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Kat was woken by the sound of her phone ringing. She’d graduated a week prior and with little to nothing to do, she was making the most of it by sleeping in as much as possible. Without looking at the screen, she answered her phone, still lying in bed.

“‘Lo?” she mumbled, figuring it was her mom.

A crisp British voice, decidedly _not_ her mother, said, “Kat, it’s Marnie. With Modest? We’re going to need you sooner than we had anticipated. Can you be ready to go next week?”

“Sure?” Kat wasn’t fully awake and couldn’t think of any valid argument against starting this whole charade early. Her contract had technically begun at the start of May, so they owned her ass currently anyway.

“I’ll email you the flight details -- we’re going to route you through New York and have you spend a day there. You’ll get a total makeover -- hair, makeup, new wardrobe. Fun, right? Then we’ll send you on to Niall in Sunderland. Well, you’ll fly into Newcastle and you’ll drive to Sunderland, as that’s where the band will be rehearsing before the next leg of the tour starts towards the end of the month.”

Kat was finally starting to wake up somewhat. “Does he know this?” Also, where the hell were these places she was naming? She’d assumed, apparently incorrectly, that she’d go to Niall in London as that’s where he lived (as she learned via her more in-depth internet research she’d done since coming home from Los Angeles) but apparently she was going elsewhere in Europe. Those places were in Europe, weren’t they? Fuck, she should have paid more attention in geography.

“He will. He’s my next call. We’ll line up a number of dates and events for you two to debut your relationship to the public and I’ll keep you informed of our expectations. Go ahead and post about going to the UK,” Kat was pleased to know that apparently the cities Marnie had mentioned were in the United Kingdom, so not so far from London, “on your social media but don’t mention anything about Niall at this point. We’ll let you know when we want you to go public with this.”

“Sounds good. And, uh, will do. Post about the trip, I mean.” Sometime in the past month, ‘Niall’ (or someone from his management team, more likely) had followed Kat on social media and she’d woke up one morning to thousands more followers. She’d gotten a number of direct messages asking about how she knew him but hadn’t responded, as instructed. She wondered if people would notice that she was going abroad and put two and two together. She hadn’t really done any internet sleuthing to figure out if anyone was talking about her yet, figuring ignorance was bliss for the time being.

“Great. I’m looking forward to meeting and working with you, Kat. Your uncle has told me wonderful things about you.”

Kat highly doubted that but didn’t see any reason to challenge it. “Thanks, I’ll see you next week then?”

“I might not see you until the first concert in Dublin, but it won’t be long. Bye for now.”

Holy fuck, this was really happening.

*

“Start again. You’re doing what?”

“I met this guy when I was in Los Angeles last month, he’s in a band, and I’m going to go to London and spend a month or so with him on tour,” Kat repeated. She’d invited herself home for dinner the day after she’d gotten the call from Marnie, knowing that, as much as she wanted to put it off, she had to talk to her parents about what she was doing as soon as possible. 

“That’s what I thought you said. Mike, you’re going to have to take this one. I’m fairly certain our daughter, our daughter that just graduated magna cum laude, that was described by her professors as one of the most intelligent and conscientious students she had ever had the pleasure of teaching, just said she’s going to a foreign country to follow a boy she just met. This is either some elaborate joke or she’s part of some sort of alien personality swap experiment like on that made for tv movie we saw last week. I’m not even sure which one I’m hoping for at this point.” Lynn sighed dramatically and put her face in her hands. 

“Katherine, this is crazy. You’ve always been so responsible and cautious. Is this some sort of reaction to your graduation and not having a job lined up? I know your mom and I have been a little harsh on you about that and if this is some sort of rebellion or something…” Her dad, while calmer about it than her mom, seemed no more supportive of what Kat was saying.

“Oh my God, no, it’s nothing like that! It’s just…” Kat struggled with how to present this to her family. As she wasn’t a great liar, she figured the best way to make it believable was to imagine that it was real, that she’d really met someone she’d cared about and wanted to do this. “He’s just a really great guy; I can really see something there, that I’d really regret not pursuing fully. Life’s short, you know, and when else am I going to be able to do something like this? Even if it doesn’t pan out, if it doesn’t turn into anything real, at least I’ll have tried and gotten to see some of the world as a bonus. There’s obviously some risk but there’s also an opportunity for an amazing reward if I give this a shot.”

“Some risk? Some risk? Honey, you don’t even know this kid. And he’s in a band? I know how much you love music but it’s just so hard to make it in that industry, no matter how talented you are. You could end up stranded in some European country when their gigs suddenly dry up,” Lynn said, her voice rising.

Kat couldn’t contain her laughter at that.

“This is serious, young lady, and the very fact that you’re not able to see that makes me --” her dad scolded.

“Mom, Dad, come with me.”

Although they both grumbled, they both got up and followed her. Kat took them down to her sister Molly’s room. Once they stepped through the door, Kat shut it behind them. She flipped through the calendar her sister had pinned to the back of the door until she found the page she was looking for, the one for the month of September.

“Mom, Dad, meet Niall Horan, the guy I’ve been seeing.”

“This isn’t funny, Katherine,” her mom said, the look on her face disapproving. 

“I’m not joking. He’s in One Direction. You know, the same band that Molls and Gabby are obsessed with?”

“But how?” her dad asked, clearly flabbergasted by this new development.

“I met him at the Bruce Springsteen concert that Becca and I went to in LA. I didn’t know who he was at first -- I wasn’t around when the girls discovered them so I wasn’t in on them talking about them nonstop like I’m sure you guys have been. I’m familiar with some of the band’s songs, but I didn’t really know any of the individual members. Anyway, we got to talking and we just really hit it off. And we’ve been talking, over email and text mostly, for the past month and he really wants me to come travel with him and his band. He’s paying for my flight and hotel rooms, Mom -- and yes, I’ll have my own room -- so I’ll just need spending money and I’ve got enough in savings to cover that, no problem.”

“I don’t know about this, Kat, I really don’t. I’m sure it’s easy to be impressed with all that fame and I can’t imagine how exciting it is to have a celebrity focus all their attention on you, but musicians aren’t known for their fidelity--who’s to say you just aren’t his current flavor of the month? A famous young guy like that, I just can’t think that he’d be interested in tying himself down to one person, no matter how amazing you are. And I really don’t like the idea of you just sponging off him, that just really makes me uncomfortable, it gives him too much power. I don’t want you feeling like you owe him anything, just because he’d paying for things for you,” Lynn said, both her and Mike sitting down on Molly’s bed.

Kat pulled out Molly’s desk chair and sat as well, trying to maintain a relaxed appearance despite the frustration she was feeling with them. “God, first you were worried because you thought he wasn’t successful, now you’re worried because he’s too successful? Mom, I don’t think I’m going to marry him, but besides some potentially hurt feelings, there just isn’t a ton to lose here. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’d be crazy to miss out on it. I’ll be back in plenty of time to be ready for substitute teaching opportunities in the fall and my professor asked me to help him with an online course he’s teaching, which I can do from anywhere, so I’ll have a bit of income coming in from that. I’ll have plenty of downtime when Niall’s rehearsing to get my work done for the online course. I didn’t really have any other summer plans -- Becca and most of my other friends that are sticking around the area are going to be working full time starting in a couple weeks so I would have been at loose ends anyway.”

“Honey, it sounds like you’ve thought this all through, and while I really do appreciate that and where you’re coming from, there’s just no way that your father and I can give you our blessing for something like this, we just can’t,” Lynn said, shaking her head.

“I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I’m not actually asking for your permission. I’m an adult, a college graduate now, and I have enough savings from what Grandpa left me to be ok without your support, even if you’d choose to kick me off your insurance. I’m hoping you won’t, obviously, but that’s completely your prerogative.” Kat tried to speak as calmly and rationally as possible, but inside she was quaking. The thought of actually damaging her strong relationship with her parents over this was something she hadn’t really considered. Maybe she’d been naive, thinking that they’d support her in anything she wanted to do -- she’d never really pushed them before on anything and maybe they didn’t trust her as much as she’d thought they did.

“We never said we’d do that, Kat, so don’t go putting words in our mouths. You’re our daughter, our first born, and we’re going to love you and help you out in any way we can. As stupid of an idea as we think this is --” Kat started to try to interupt, but her dad waved her off. “-- as stupid as it is, it’s not like you’re on drugs or joining a cult or something. It’s crazy, yes, but it’s a reasonable amount of crazy, I suppose.”

“God, and to think we were just talking about how easy we had it with Kat, Mike. I think we jinxed ourselves.” Kat’s mom looked exhausted by the entire conversation.

“I don’t want this to change how you think of me. I’m still the same person, I’m just being a little braver than I’ve been in the past, I’m just really going for something instead of playing it safe. I’d think you’d support that. Dad, you’re the one that told me that you hoped I’d loosen up in college and have a beer now and again,” Kat reminded him happily, which was a true story. Her dad had thought she was too uptight and too much of a rule follower in high school and had told her that he couldn’t wait for her to get to college and live a little, outside the watchful eyes of their small community. 

“And I’ve regretted ever even thinking that, let alone telling you it. Okay, Kat, you’ve got my support. Follow your heart and we’ll always be here for you, regardless of how things go. And we’ll try really hard not to tell you that we told you so, but no guarantees.” She felt positively giddy now that she realized she had them on her side.

“Thanks, guys, that’s really the best I could possible hope for.” _God, how did I get so lucky to have such amazing parents?_ Kat thought. She felt shitty lying to them, only to have them be their typical amazing selves about the whole thing, but she did believe everything she’d told them. In theory, on paper, she would support someone doing what she was telling her parents she was doing. So what if it wasn’t actually real? “And you know, it’s always possible that we’ll hate each other after spending more time together and I’ll be home two days after I left. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but it’s certainly a possibility.”

“How could anyone hate you, sweetie?” her dad asked, and she knew that while he was teasing her, he also meant what he was saying. If only he knew how Niall really felt about her though.

Her mom suddenly clapped her hands excitedly, her face lighting up for the first time in the entire conversation. “Your sisters will be home soon, I can’t wait to see their faces when you tell them!”

*

“I thought you liked girls?” Molly asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. All the girls, including Lynn, were sitting together in Gabby’s bedroom later that afternoon, soon after the girls had returned from their friends’ house. 

Kat sighed, she should have seen this coming. “I like girls and boys, remember? Just because I dated a girl most recently doesn’t mean I don’t still like boys too. And just because I’m dating Niall now doesn’t mean I don’t like girls anymore. I know it seems confusing, but it really isn’t,” Kat said, smiling. She loved her sisters, she really did, but they didn’t have the best grasp on these types of things, not surprisingly as they were 12 (Molly) and 10 (Gabby) years old.

Kat was sure her sisters heard all sorts of narrow-minded shit about her at school -- Nebraska was an extremely politically conservative state and a lot of its citizens’ mindsets reflected that. Attitudes were slowly changing but she wasn’t sure it had quite made it to her small town yet. 

Her parents had been hugely support of her when she told them she was bisexual her sophomore year of college but she was certain they’d heard a lot about it from their friends and coworkers once the news got around town that Kat was dating a girl.

“Oh my God, I cannot believe this! Our friends are going to DIE!! When can I tell them?” Now that she’d gotten her more adult question out of the way, Molly was reacting in much the same way Lynn and Kat had anticipated.

“Maybe wait just a bit, okay? At least until I’m over there. I doubt they’ll believe you anyway. Not until there are some pictures posted of us together,” Kat replied, then pulled out her phone, scrolling through her pictures. “Speaking of which, want to see one of the two of us he took at the concert?”

Her ears felt like they were going to bleed from all the shrieking that followed.

*

Besides Becca and her parents, there was only one other person that Kat felt like she had to tell in person about her upcoming trip. She was almost dreading this conversation more than telling her parents as she was worried he’d see right through her bs.

She’d met Eric when they’d both started their job as pages for the Nebraska Legislature her junior year. He attended school at the much larger state university, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, so they’d never crossed paths before. They bonded over shared eye rolls at some of the more pretentious senators and their tentative friendship was cemented one day when Kat had helped a panicked Eric clean up his backpack after an unfortunate incident with a leaky bottle of lube. An hour of wiping down all his belongings while trying not to drop any of the slippery objects had them both dying of laughter and ensured they’d be friends for life.

Since then, they’d been close, always talking about relationships and sex and anything else important in their lives. He’d been dating the same guy for a few months and had been on Kat to get back into the dating scene but she was quite certain he hadn’t imagined anything like this.

Kat invited him over for pizza and a movie one night, knowing this wasn’t a conversation they could have in public. 

“So, I met someone,” she said, as she’d rehearsed mentally before he’d gotten there.

“Shut up! That’s awesome, tell me more…” Eric said, setting down his pizza plate and turning towards her on the couch. 

“Well, I met him when Becca and I were in LA at the concert we went to?” she said, phrasing it like a question as she wasn’t sure if he’d recall her talking about it.

“The Bruce Springsteen concert? Is he 50?” he deadpanned. Eric had never been impressed by Kat’s love of older music and musicians, to say the least.

“Fuck off, no, he’s not 50! He’s actually a little younger than me.”

“Well, that’s promising.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kat mumbled, then continued, “So here’s where it gets a little crazy. You know One Direction?”

“Uh, yeah, of course I do.”

“He’s in the band. I mean, he’s in One Direction.”

“He’s in the band,” he repeated.

“Yeah, that’s what I said, his name’s Niall? He’s the blonde one, super cute,” she said.

“He’s in the band. One Direction.”

“Are you broken, Eric? Did I break you?” Kat teased.

“You did not meet a member of One Direction when you were in LA. Why the fuck didn’t you call and tell me this immediately? You know this is the sort of stuff I live for!! God, I’m so jealous, I hate you.” He smacked her with a pillow and Kat half assedly defended herself.

“Well, you’re going to hate me even more. We’ve actually been talking over the last month and ... and I’m going to fly, I mean, he’s flying me over to see him in London next week.”

Eric's mouth dropped open. “Shut the fuck up.”

“It’s true, I’m being totally serious.”

“Did you fuck him?”

“What? No, no of course I didn’t! We only hung out the one night. I don’t know what kind of girl you take me for.” In all her preparation for this conversation, Kat hadn’t thought about him asking if they’d hooked up, although she should have. Sex was a constant point of discussion between them.

“Kat, I know exactly what kind of girl you are and that’s why I’m asking.”

“No, I didn’t fuck him, promise,” Kat said with absolute sincerity. That much was true, at least.

“So you’re going to stay with the dude that you’ve only met once, never even fucked, clear across the world?” Eric asked incredulously. 

“It sounds terrible when you say it like that. Jesus, you’re being way tougher than my mom and dad were.” Kat dropped her face into her hands.

“You’ve told Mike and Lynn this shit? How are you still roaming free?”

“Hey, they’re not that controlling. And they don’t like it but they came around.”

“Holy shit. Kat, what if he’s terrible in bed? What if he has a tiny, tiny penis? You kissed him, right, tell me you at least kissed him?” he pushed.

“Of course I did,” Kat said, blushing, suddenly thankful that her body’s reaction to discomfort (in this case, from having to lie to her friend) was the same as it was to embarrassment. 

“Well, the color of your face is telling me that was at least good, so that’s an encouraging sign. How big are his hands and feet?”

“Shut up, you know that’s not always accurate.”

“It’s something at least,” he said, giving her a knowing look.

“I don’t really care, as long as he knows what he’s doing, it’ll be fine. I mean, maybe I won’t even sleep with him.”

Eric just looked at her, eyebrows raised and head cocked.

“Okay, I’ll probably sleep with him. I mean, as long as he’s not a total d-bag,” she said, feeling uncomfortable with how close she was to the truth in what she was saying. I mean, she thought he was attractive, provided he started being nicer to her, she probably would sleep with him. If he wanted to. Which was obviously a very big ‘if.’ 

“This is ... just, I can’t believe you’re doing this. I can’t believe you, of all people, are going to do something so amazingly insane. I love it.” He pulled her into a hug. 

“Well, I’m glad I’m still able to surprise you, after our months and months of friendship.” Kat leaned back once the hug had ended. “Can I have the rest of your pizza if you’re not going to eat it? I’m starved after you grilling me. Sheesh.”

Eric handed his plate over to her, grabbing his phone after. "You go ahead and eat, I'm going to fucking Google this guy."

*

“I’m thinking bronde, with subtle balayage. I’m thinking lob. How does that sound?”

 _Like none of those are real words?_ Kat thought but didn’t say, not wanting to reveal her ignorance. She’d only been in New York for two hours and she was already feeling totally overwhelmed. As Marnie had informed her, One Direction’s management team had flown her into New York City and she was promptly hustled to an upscale salon. She was in awe of the city, which she’d never visited before, and still felt like she was trying to catch up.

Not that she really ever would, as she wasn’t going to be there long enough to do anything; she’d only be spending a total of 10 hours there.

Kat’s confusion regarding the technical terms must have shown because the stylist took pity on her and clarified, “A lob is a long bob, so you’ll lose a few inches but not much -- I think we’ll angle it too, it’ll be gorgeous. Balayage is kind of a gradual highlighting, where we paint on the color -- it’s more natural looking and grows out better. And bronde is a brown blonde color, not too far from what you’re sporting currently but it’ll be a bit more dramatic. So ... yes? Do you like?” He ruffled his hands through her hair as he talked, which made Kat feel incredibly relaxed. 

“Sure, that sounds great. You’re the professional, I trust you.” Kat had opinions about a lot of things, but she wasn’t too concerned about what they did to her hair. No matter how they cut it, it’d grow back eventually. No sense stressing about it.

She had plenty of thoughts, however, about the wardrobe they were providing her. After her cut and color, as well as a consult with a makeup artist who provided her with an exciting new array of expensive products Kat was delighted by, they took her to the Sony Headquarters there in the city. After her makeover, she’d never felt better about herself.

The feeling was short lived. Kat walked into a room filled with racks of clothes and a very skinny, very unhappy looking woman that turned out to be her stylist, Marissa, and her slightly less emaciated assistant, Phillip. They had Kat try on outfit after outfit, most of which she liked but there was a fair amount that was more risque than she’d normally choose for herself. Kat compromised on a number of things but there were several pieces of clothing that she knew she would never feel comfortable wearing and told them so. She could tell the stylists were unimpressed with her but she tried not to let herself care. 

After they’d selected what they felt like was an appropriate amount of clothing, Kat tried all the "yeses" again with a seamstress present to get everything tailored to fit her body perfectly. Kat couldn’t believe that all these beautiful clothes would be hers: combined with her new hair and makeup, she truly felt like a transformed person. As if that wasn’t enough, they upgraded her iPhone to the latest model, moving all of her information and music over. 

Another conflict arose, however, when they insisted she get new luggage to replace the somewhat banged up set she had borrowed from her parents. 

“I’m sorry, I’m not spending $50 to send a $30 suitcase halfway across the country, it just doesn’t make sense,” Phillip said condescendingly, looking at her luggage as though it stunk. Which it absolutely didn’t. It wasn’t in the best shape but it was perfectly serviceable and non-smelly.

Part of Kat was mortified by this conversation -- she always was by any implication that she was poor or that things she owned were inferior because of that, but she wasn’t couldn’t give in on this. “Look, if it were mine, I’d say fine, just get rid of it but it’s not. It’s my parents’. So I have to return it. End of story.”

She texted Becca immediately after, mostly so she wouldn’t forget but also so she’d have something to do so she wouldn’t have to see the eye rolls and looks they were no doubt giving each other about her. 

> **Apparently I have to have fancy suitcases so I’m shipping my mom’s back to you -- could you throw it in my room and I’ll deal with it when I’m home? Thank you SO much! xoxo**

Shortly after that, with a promise that everything would be done later that afternoon (Kat felt bad for the seamstress, hopefully she had lots of help), along with individual style cards for all the clothes so she knew what to wear with what (they were clearly not trusting her with anything, not that she blamed them), she was done for the day, with nothing to do but stress before her flight out that evening.

Luckily Kat had a lot of experience with stressing, so she was all set.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "New York New York" by Ryan Adams


	6. Chapter 6

At the knock on her hotel door, Kat took some calming breaths. She felt slightly better after a shower but she’d been traveling for roughly 12 hours so she wasn’t quite herself. She’d slept as much as she could on her overnight flight but it wasn’t really quality rest. Coupled with her anxiety about what she was doing in general made for a super churny stomach. Steeling herself, she pulled open the door.

“Hi,” Kat said nervously. Now that she knew more about Niall, she felt even more awkward about being asked to pose as his fake girlfriend. The likelihood of someone like him, with all his fame and money, being interested in someone like her was pretty much nonexistent. Their paths would never even have crossed and if, by some fluke, they had, he would never have taken note of her. 

“Hey, ya ready to go? Guess I’m to take ya to the stadium with me. We’ve got rehearsals.” With no further elaboration, Niall turned and walked away. Kat stood, stunned for a moment, before she scrambled back into her room and grabbed her purse, phone, and room key, tearing back down the hall to catch up with him before the elevator arrived. Kat wondered what he would have done had she not arrived in time, probably just left her ass, she imagined.

As they stepped into the elevator car, a third person, an older man that had been waiting for the elevator, stepped in with them as well. Kat knew that the entire floor was with the band but she had no idea what this guy’s job was.

Kat tried to catch Niall’s eye so he might introduce her but he had his phone out and was focused on whatever he was looking at on it. 

Fine then, she could just introduce herself.

“Uh, hi, I’m Katherine Hamilton.” She stuck out her hand, which the man thankfully shook.

“Basil, I’m Niall’s bodyguard.”

Huh. Of course he’d have a bodyguard.

“He knows, it’s cool,” Niall said, not looking up from his phone.

Kat wondered what he must think of her, that she was some money and fame hungry person. She supposed it didn't really matter but she didn't like it. To distract herself, she looked over at Niall.

“Your hair’s different,” she blurted, noticing that it was shorter and standing straight up now, as opposed to the earlier flop when they’d first met. 

“Good lookin’ out,” he replied dryly, again without actually looking at her, nor noticing her own recent makeover, making her feel even more like an ass.

Message received. Shut mouth.

*

“Lads, this is Kate. Kate, lads. I’ve got to go run and check with Sandy an’ Dan about the intro to 'Better Than Words.' You’ll be fine, yeah?” Niall said, not actually looking over at Kat to see if she agreed before he exited the dressing room.

She watched him leave with barely concealed terror. Sure, he was decisively NOT her friend but at least she somewhat knew him. Being abandoned in a room with four strange men, worse yet _famous_ strange men. Men she likely had nothing in common with, if her experience with Niall had shown her anything.

Kat wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt and forced herself to look back at the rest of the guys. Through her internet research, she recognized Louis and Harry sitting on one of the couches, while Liam was standing in the corner of the room, finishing buttoning up his shirt. Zayn was curled up on the other sofa across the room, sleeping.

Liam walked over, hand outstretched, with a kind smile stretching his face. “Don’t mind Niall, he’s new to this whole girlfriend thing. I’m sure he’ll warm up to ya soon enough. I’m Liam.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kat.”

A quizzical look appeared on his face. “Kat? Didn’t Ni just call you Kate?”

“Uh, yeah. Well, my full name is Katherine and I guess he just assumed I went by Kate? But I don’t, I’m a Kat. And uh, I kind of forgot to correct him. He doesn’t actually call me anything most of the time so it just didn’t really come up.” She recognized how pathetic that excuse made her sound but it was the truth and they’d all know it soon enough. 

She saw a look pass between Liam, Harry, and Louis that she couldn’t decipher, which was just as well. Harry motioned her over, patting the seat beside him.

Excited for the chance to at least sit and pretend that she wasn’t as uncomfortable as hell, Kat darted over to the couch, sticking close to the arm of the chair and leaving a decent size space between her and Harry. “I’m Harry, and this is Lou. Sleeping Beauty over there’s Zayn.”

“Fuck you, ’m not asleep,” Zayn muttered from his spot across the room, then proved the truth behind his statement by saying, “‘S good to meet you, Kat.” Not that he actually opened his eyes to do so, but it was the thought that counted, Kat supposed. All things being equal, every single other member of the band had been nicer and more welcoming to her than Niall had.

“So, you’re with us for the next week or so, right? Ever been to one of our shows?” Harry asked, smiling at her kindly. Kat made every effort not to stare at him, or any of the other guys for that matter. Without question, they were the best looking people she’d ever seen up close. 

She forced herself to tamp down her nerves and speak to him like he was a normal human being. Try as she might, she couldn’t exactly make good eye contact but she hoped that would come with time. “Yeah, I’m here through the first London show, I guess. So a couple weeks? And this will be my first concert, actually. Of yours, I mean. But I like your music that I’ve heard on the radio and once I agreed to do this, I bought all your CDs and really like it all, especially your last album, and --”

Louis cut her off with a laugh before she could babble any more. “No problem, love, there’s not a quiz or anything. It’s not a requirement that our stunt girls like our music. There’s not even a requirement that they like us, for that matter. Speakin’ of, you’ll have to meet Eleanor one of these days -- I think she’ll be in Manchester or London.”

Kat noted his comment about his supposed girlfriend and felt somewhat reassured? Or something like that, that she and Niall weren’t the only ones that didn’t get along with the person they were dating. Since she couldn’t question that, at least not yet, she instead asked, “About how long does rehearsal go? And what do you guys actually have to rehearse, I was under the impression that you guys don’t do dance routines?”

“We don’t dance. Which is for the best, really. But we do need to coordinate our stage movements so we’re not all bunched up together, abandoning one side of the stadium. And we have a few different songs that we sing all sitting together, so we need to remember when those are. I think we’re going to work on a few harmonies as well today, as there were a couple that got a bit off in South America,” Louis said. 

“To answer your question, shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours. Zayn here has to leave to meet up with his fiancee, so it can’t go much longer than that,” Harry chipped in. 

_Zayn’s fiancee?_ That’s right, he was engaged, to some girl in a UK girl band. When she’d researched the band, she found out that the majority of them had girlfriends -- now that she was “with” Niall, only Harry was single. Although maybe Liam was too, as of a few weeks ago? She’d seen some articles about how he’d broken up with his girlfriend recently. Which she was somewhat relieved about, Sophia, his ex or whatever she was at the moment, was insanely gorgeous. Kat didn’t need any extra help to feel inadequate, thank you very much.

Kat wasn’t sure if any of the relationships were legitimate though and she realized that that would be one of the lasting gifts she received from doing this job -- she’d never take a relationship at face value. Which probably wasn’t all that useful of at thing to suspect in her decidedly non-famous circle of friends. Not really much to gain from a fake relationship back at home.

“Speaking of, we should probably get to it, boys. Sooner we start, sooner we’re done, eh?” Liam said, bouncing on his heels a little, full of energy. Harry and Louis murmured their agreement and got up. After some prodding from Liam and a few pinches from Louis, Zayn rolled off the couch, grumbling, and followed them all out the door.

Kat sat glued to the couch, not sure what she was supposed to do as the guys all filed out, talking and laughing amongst themselves. She hated not knowing what was going on, although it seemed like she better get used to the feeling. 

A moment after she’d decided to just stay put and read or fiddle around on her phone to pass the time, Zayn stuck his head back into the room. “Kat, c’mon, ya can come out and watch if you’d like?”

Kat jumped to her feet, not caring how overeager she looked. “Sure, that would be nice.”

She trotted out after them.

*

Kat loved every minute of their rehearsal. She sat a ways from the stage, in one of the stadium seats as there weren’t any floor seats set up yet. Even from there, though, she could see the amazing chemistry between the guys and how much fun they had with each other. At the beginning of the practice, it was obvious that Niall was tense, likely because of her presence, and it seemed like each of the band members had their own ways of trying to get him to shake off his bad mood. They were successful, ultimately, and he was goofing around with them all by midway through their rehearsal. 

At the end of practice, it was a repeat of the scene in the dressing room: everyone headed out different directions, talking and laughing. Kat sitting there having no fucking clue where she was supposed to be going. She figured she should probably follow Niall but that just felt so pathetic that she stayed put.

She saw Liam nudge Niall before they left the arena, causing Niall to stop in place, heaving a sigh big enough that she could see it from the distance she was at. Once Liam had walked on without him, he finally turned around part way, calling out, “Kate, c’mon.”

Kat made her way over to him, purposefully not rushing, although it was hard not to when he was clearly so annoyed and impatient. “Where to next?” she asked lightly once she was near, trying to ease the obvious tension between them.

“Car’ll take us to the hotel to get our stuff, then back to London, we’re done here. Got a show in Dublin in a couple of days, nothin’ really ‘til then.”

“Cool.”

They walked silently out of the building together, a marked difference from the behavior she saw him exhibit with every single other person he’d interacted with that day. Of course, he’d known those people for much longer than the few hours he’d spent with Kat, so perhaps things would get better. 

Or perhaps he’d always hate her and never speak to her. Could go either way, really.

Kat’s exhaustion wasn’t really helping her take an optimistic view of things. 

Niall’s continued behavior reinforced her dismal outlook -- he barely spoke to her on the way to the hotel, informing her to grab her stuff and meet back at the car for the five hour ride to London (she Googled how long of a trip it would be, she’d be damned if she asked him anything at that point).

Once in the car, he put his headphones on and leaned against the door, his intention to take a nap clear. Kat figured that a nap was a good idea and followed suit, although she deliberately and childishly made sure to choose a playlist that included no One Direction songs. 

This whole thing was shaping up to be the longest year ever.

*

“Here you are, sir, miss. I’ll get your bags.”

When the driver got out of the car, Kat grabbed Niall’s arm before he could as well. She said, panicked, “Wait, this is a house.” 

“‘Nother brilliant observation.”

Kat chose to ignore that.

“Is it your house?” she asked, peering out the window frantically. The driver had pulled them into the driveway of a privacy-gated home, which she couldn’t fully see due to how close the car was to the house.

“Yeah, it’s mine.”

“I thought I was going to be staying at a hotel.”

“Ya thought wrong. Can’t have my girlfriend stayin' at a hotel, not when everyone knows I have an actual home here. What would it look like if ya didn’t stay with me?” He sounded like he was repeating lines that had been told to him, probably when he’d tried to argue the same thing with his management. 

“I can’t, I can’t just stay here with you.”

“Not to worry, Katherine, your honor is safe with me,” he said, snorting as though the thought of him touching her was the biggest joke he could imagine. He got out of the car, Kat close behind.

“I’m not worried about that, it’s just…” Kat struggled to find the right words to express herself. “I can’t stay in your home, that’s too much. That’s expecting too much of you, they really can’t make you do this, can they?”

“Kate, I’m being forced to be a part of this entire charade, to pretend for a year that we’re datin', what makes ya think that having ya stay here for a few days is somehow worse than all the rest?”

Kat closed her eyes. “Fine, I’ll just stay in my room the entire time. You deserve to have privacy and down time. I’m sorry.”

“Ya don’t have to hide in your room. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s a big house, plenty of room for both of us.” Niall’s voice was somewhat gruff but his words were kind. He didn’t seem to be the type of person that was typically rude to people and was therefore chafing against his understandably -- even justifiably -- bad behavior towards Kat.

As she trailed him into the house, Kat saw that Niall’s home was gorgeous, very light and modern. And very tidy. She wondered if that was him or if he had a cleaning person that made it seem that way.

“Follow me,” Niall said as they made their way through his living room. It was a nice open space, with a large sectional centered in front of a fireplace with a TV mounted above it, white shelves bracketing it on each side. 

He opened a door and flipped on the lights. “Ya can kip here, the loo’s just through there.” He pointed to a door in the room, indicating she would have her own private bathroom, which was a relief. Kat made a mental note to google the meaning of "kip," although she’d read enough brit lit to know what loo meant, at least.

Kat waited until he stepped back to walk into the room. It was a lovely if impersonal room, as most guest rooms tend to be, with a large bed and TV on the wall above a low dresser.

She set her luggage down beside the bed. “This is great, thank you so much. And, uh, your house is really nice.”

“Thanks. I like it.” He put his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Ya can leave your bags here but c’mon, I’ll show ya where the kitchen is.”

Not surprisingly given the rest of the house, Niall’s kitchen was gorgeous and modern as was his spacious back deck. He didn’t really show her his room, just pointed out the door to where it was, which Kat totally understood. There wasn’t any reason for her to know what that room looked like, as she’d likely never see the inside of it. He certainly deserved to have at least that one space as his sanctuary.

Once the tour concluded, the stood awkwardly facing each other, back in the living room.

“Well, I’ll just go unpack...” Kat started.

“I’m going to order takeaway...” Niall said at the same time.

After they both chuckled, Kat said, “Please continue, yours was regarding food which is much more interesting.”

He smiled at that. “I’m going to order takeaway, is there anythin' in particular you’d like?”

“No, go ahead and get whatever, I’m not picky,” she replied, which was a complete and utter lie. She was the very definition of picky but she wasn’t going to force him to get anything he didn’t want just because she had the palate of an eight year old. After thinking about it a moment, she quickly added,“Uh, except maybe not sushi, I don’t really like sushi,” as that was the one food she really couldn’t stomach at all.

“I can work with that. Ya can go and unpack, I’ll let ya know when the food is here.”

“Thanks,” Kat said, heading towards her new room. She wasn’t sure how much sense it made to unpack given that she’d only be there for a short time, but she had some nicer things that should be hung up at the very least. Even if she hadn’t, unpacking was a perfect excuse for escaping to her temporary space. 

As she was hanging up a couple of dresses she’d been given in New York, Kat’s phone chirped at her, letting her know she had a new text. 

_Oh fuck,_ Kat thought as she read the message from Marnie. Apparently, everything was all set for Kat and Niall’s date the next day: they’d be going to a pub where they were expected to hang out in the outdoor terrace (which Kat assumed was just a fancy beer garden), paps would be photographing them while they were there, and, oh yeah, they were expected to kiss at least once, probably a couple of times to ensure that the paps got a good shot.

Her day kept getting worse, as when Niall alerted her a short time later that the food was there, it turned out he had ordered Indian food. Which, of course, she wasn’t really a fan of. She made it through though, as Niall had ordered such a wide variety of foods that there were several that she didn’t mind at all. Plus she made sure to eat lots and lots of naan to fill up. If Niall noticed, he didn’t say anything about it. 

He didn’t say much of anything the entire meal, in fact, reading on his phone most of the time while Kat picked her way through the food and acted like it was no big deal to be sitting in this fancy house with a boybander that had nothing to say to her.

Niall not speaking to her, however, did nothing to help the constant stream of freaking out her mind was doing, knowing that she’d have to kiss this relative stranger in front of a bunch of people, in front of CAMERAS for God’s sake, which translated into kissing in front of the entire world as the whole point of the outing and the pictures was to publish them and make sure everyone knows that Niall Horan, member of One Direction, has a new girlfriend, and that girlfriend was her. 

Once she’d ate enough to pass as a meal, Kat made her excuses (jet lag was a real thing and she was suddenly completely exhausted) and scurried back to her room, so she could freak out in private. She was actually relieved that she was so tired, as she was certain even her racing thoughts couldn’t get in the way of her passing out that night.

Thankfully she was right and she fell immediately asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Kat woke up slowly, rolling onto her back before stretching out all her limbs as far as she could, starfishing across the bed. She blinked her eyes closed against the soft morning sunlight, then snapped them open again when she realized she had no idea where she was.

Her panic was short lived as it all came back to her. She was in Niall Horan’s guest room. Right.

Although realizing that caused its own kind of panic. Because she had to go on a date with him that night. A date that involved kissing. And cameras. 

She should be more freaked out by the cameras but it was really the kissing that she was focusing on. 

Trying to clear her head, she took a shower and got ready for the day, no where near comfortable enough around Niall to just go out in the main living area in her PJs. She didn’t get fancy or anything though, just put on some of her own jeans and a plain t-shirt. 

When she left her room, she could hear noises coming from the kitchen, which coincided perfectly with her own growling stomach, so she headed that way, figuring she’d find both Niall and something to eat there.

He stood at the kitchen counter, chopping up something, hair mussed and dressed in a t-shirt and athletic shorts, his skinny legs on display. They were ridiculous, really, and not something that Kat should find attractive at all. 

When she was absolutely not checking out his legs, she noticed the left knee had a large scar running the length of it, which looked somewhat fresh and painful. She quickly pulled her eyes up before he noticed her staring.

Too late. Without looking over at her, he said, “I had knee surgery in January, had a bum knee since the first year of tourin’ but never had time to get it fixed up.”

“Good morning,” Kat said, cheeks pinking at getting caught checking him out. “Does it still hurt?”

“Gets a bit sore from time to time, but it’s so much better than it was before I got the surgery that I really can’t complain.” He scooped up the fruit he'd diced in his hands and put it into a bowl. “I’ve gotta couple different kinds of cereal, oatmeal, or ya can fix yourself up some eggs, toast, whatever. Cut up some fruit, too, as ya can see.”

“Bit of fruit and some cereal’d be great, thanks. Just point me in the right direction and I can help myself.”

Niall pointed to a cupboard by the fridge. Kat opened it to find several cereal boxes that looked familiar if not exactly like what she had at home. She was relieved, after the previous night’s Indian adventure, she was half convinced she’d never eat a full meal when staying with him. 

When she turned around with the Frosties box in her hand, she found that Niall had already placed a couple of bowls and spoons out for her. “Thanks,” she murmured, somewhat surprised by his helpful behavior but appreciative nonetheless. 

As she fixed up her bowl of cereal and another of fruit, Niall spoke to her again. “Forgot to mention this yesterday, but if ya need or want anything in particular, just put it on the list on the side of the fridge. I have someone do the shoppin' for me, when I’m busy like we are now and I’m not home for a long stretch. She should be by in the next couple of days but can come sooner if ya need anything right away.”

“Thanks, that’s nice of you. The only thing is…” Kat felt awkward asking him for anything. 

“Yes?”

“I’m not really sure what you guys have in the stores here, you know? I know a lot of products are called different names or you don’t have the same stuff. Do you think maybe I could just go to the store with the person that shops for you? Might be easier. And I could pay for my own stuff that way too.”

Niall sighed. “I don’t have anything goin' on tomorrow, I can take ya. Could tell Marnie and I bet she could get some paps to photograph us, two birds with one stone that way.”

“I’m sorry, I know you don’t get much time off and I’m sure it’s not fun for you to go to places like the grocery store and get mobbed by fans. I really could go myself, just get a taxi or something?”

“It’s fine, not a big deal. I do like to go to the store meself when I can anyway. And we could grab some takeout on the way back. Haven’t had any Nando’s in a long time.”

“Nando’s?” she asked.

“That’s right, you guys don’t have Nando’s, do you? Best chicken ever, you’ll see. This’ll be great, we’ll get some of everything, so ya can try it all,” he said, actually rubbing his hands together in glee. Niall seemed happy that she was there for the first time, which Kat appreciated, even if it was only so he had an excuse to order a ton of food from what seemed to be his favorite restaurant. 

Kat followed him out into the dining room, sitting down across from him with her food.

“My plans for the day’s pretty much doing nothin’ but watchin’ sport on the telly. Until our big date tonight, that is.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Kat’s stomach dropped. He hadn’t mentioned their upcoming date at all the night before when they’d eaten dinner together. Although ‘together’ was perhaps stretching things a bit -- they had ate the same food at the same table but hadn’t spoke so, yeah, not really together together.

“Oh yeah.”

“Don’t sound so excited, Kate. Should be a grand time.” He smirked.

“Right.”

She quickly ate her food and made her excuses for returning to her room, planning on emailing her parents and Becca to tell them how things were going (those two emails would obviously have completely different content). She’d texted them the day before to let them know she’d arrived safely but not much else as there hadn’t been time. Now she had most of the day to catch them up.

And stress. Plenty of time for that too.

*

In the car that night, on the way to their date, Niall said, “Marnie spoke to you, I’m assumin'.”

“Yes,” Kat replied nervously but glad that they both seemed to be on the same page about what they had to do.

This was mortifying beyond all belief, but Kat felt like she had to ask. I mean, she never would have done something like this on stage without rehearsing at least a few times, right?

“Um, do you think we should maybe, uh, practice before we’re in front of everyone?” she asked not even attempting to make eye contact with him.

“Practice what? Kissin'? I think we’ll be fine. I mean, you’ve kissed other people before right? Yeah, so not really too different.” Niall managed to seem both bored and amused by her at the same time, which was infuriating to Kat. Since she couldn’t do much about it, she stared daggers out the window instead, while imagining different scenarios in her head in which she told him off. 

Which was a really productive use of her time.

*

The bar they pulled into was clearly popular, particularly as it was a Tuesday, people in pairs and groups heading towards the establishment, loud music pouring out of the open door. Kat didn’t spot any paparazzi right off but she was sure they were around, lurking somewhere.

Kat opened her own car door and stepped out, looking around the area nervously. Niall came around to her side of the vehicle and slid his hand into hers, like he’d done it millions of times before.

His hand was large and warm, and she could feel the calluses that no doubt came from playing the guitar as often as he did. There was something grounding about it though, a small imperfect but real detail in this otherwise stylized fantasy relationship they were portraying. Kat focused on the feel of Niall's somewhat rough hand in hers, trying to calm her nerves about what was to come.

She couldn't help but wish that he didn't dislike her so much, that she could feel like they were in this together. But that wasn’t her reality -- he loathed her and she needed to remember that. 

As they made their way together towards the building, Kat pulled her hand out of his, rummaging through the small purse she’d brought along. 

“What are ya lookin' for?” Niall asked as she paused on the street.

“Trying to find my ID, I know it’s in here somewhere. Or will my Nebraska license even work? Shit, I didn’t bring my passport.”

He gave her a curious look. “You’re not goin’ need any sort of identification, they don’t card here like they do in the States. Younger drinkin’ age, ya know.”

“Oh, right. Well phew.”

He grabbed her hand again, pulling her along with him. Normally, Niall was easily four inches taller than her, but with the heels she had on, she came close to matching his height. She felt fairly overdressed for where they were going in a springy dress and moto jacket, but the stylists in New York had been very insistent in what she should wear when she was out with Niall and Kat didn’t want to defy them at this early stage. Plus, she actually really liked that particular outfit and was happy when Marnie suggested it.

As they walked, Kat finally spotted the photographer, off to the side of the street, some distance away from them. Glancing over at Niall to alert him of their presence, she saw that he was already aware of their location. He gave her a small smile as they continued on their way.

Inside the pub, they both grabbed beers at the bar, Niall paying, which Kat didn’t argue with as she realized she didn’t have any pounds. She’d have to rectify that situation soon as she couldn’t just have him paying for everything. Particularly as they’d provided her with a credit card for food and clothes and she might as well pay for their stuff instead of Niall. Although, she supposed the expenses associated with her, uh, upkeep or whatever it should be called were probably billed back to the band anyway. Kat hadn’t really thought about it before and figure that moment wasn’t really the time to start, not when she had so much else on her mind.

Entering the beer garden, Niall’s hand hovering low on her back (not that she noticed it at all), they found a small couch open out on edge of the patio and snagged the spot, both knowing it would be highly visible from the street where the photographers were located. It was still plenty light out and the weather was perfect for outdoor drinking. Kat noticed a number of people looking over at them, but no one had approached Niall yet, which was nice.

“Do you come here often?” she asked Niall, taking a sip of her beer as she settled into her seat.

Niall gave her a look, making her realize what she’d said. She laughed and clarified, “It’s not a line, I’m just asking, is this like your local bar? Your hang out spot? Or do you have such a thing?”

“I’ve been here before, but I’m not a regular by any means. I have a few other pubs nearby that I go to with me friends more often. I like the outdoor area here, though.” As he spoke, he put his arm on the back of the couch behind Kat. She tried to act like she didn’t notice; she was worked up enough knowing that there would be a kiss at some point in the night.

“It is nice.” After taking a sip of her drink, she nervously ran her hands over the skirt of her dress, angling her legs slightly towards him as she felt like that would show some level of intimacy and comfort. 

“Ya look really nice, by the way,” he said casually, smiling over at her. Kat choked on her beer.

He pat her on the back. “Ya okay there? Didn’t mean for my compliment to kill ya or anything.”

Kat gained control of her breathing again. “I’m fine, just wasn’t aware that you could actually see me.”

A surprised look flashed across Niall’s face and she realized that she hadn’t really let her sarcastic side show around him at all. She hadn't really let any side of herself show, for that matter. 

“I see ya just fine,” he said gruffly, drinking his beer and looking away from her. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to spoil the mood. Pretend I didn’t say that. Pretend I just said ‘thank you’ like you’re supposed to say when someone gives you a compliment.” 

After a short, uncomfortable (at least for Kat) pause, she tried again, “Are you excited for the shows in Ireland? Must be amazing to go back home such a big success.”

“Yeah, I am lookin' forward to it. The place we’re playin’ at, Croke Park, is actually where I tried out for the X Factor originally. It’s a massive venue, ‘s gonna be mad to see it filled, all for us.”

“Is this the first time you’re playing there?” Kat asked. “I’m sorry, I know a real fan would know all of this stuff already but I’m only a recent convert so I have an excuse.”

“Oh, you’re a fan now, are ya?” He smiled.

“I am. I really like your music, I’m not just saying that. I have to admit that I’d only really heard your radio stuff before and I liked a lot of it, but hadn’t really went any further than that. But after, uh, after I met you and … yeah, I bought all your CDs and really loved them all, particularly this last album.” Kat said, feeling awkward about how she was supposed to describe their faux relationship.

Niall didn't mention her pause. “Thanks, that's nice to hear. What kind of music do you listen to otherwise?”

Kat couldn't help it, she could feel herself lighting up, positively glowing, under his attention. It was so nice to have him actually talk to -- and listen to -- her and it went right to her head. The beer, which she was close to finishing by that point, probably helped too but she couldn’t deny that the majority of it had to do with having his focus all on her, for once in a positive way. 

“Um, let me think. I like a lot of different stuff. My favorites are probably Ed Sheeran, Matt Nathanson, The Lumineers, John Mayer. Also Coldplay and Snow Patrol. So singer/songwriters mostly. I like listening to older music as well, so that Bruce Springsteen concert was right up my alley.”

Niall nodded at many of the names she mentioned, but didn’t really agree with her selections one way or the other. She wondered if he had vastly different taste in music. Or if she’d offended him by talking about types of music that were fairly far from the music his band played. “Cool,” he replied. “And to answer your earlier question, we’ve played different venues in Dublin, but yeah, this will be our first time at Croke Park.”

“Will all your family be there?” Kat asked, not having thought about that possibility earlier. Shit.

“Yeah, pretty much half of Mullingar’ll be there, I’m guessin’. So yeah, my dad, my mum and my step dad, my brother and his wife, my nephew. Bunch of friends as well.”

“How...nice for you,” Kat managed, while silently thinking, _fuck fuck fuck_. She’d have to meet his MOTHER??? Fuck.

Niall didn’t seem to notice her hesitation, focused instead on their drinks. “Would ya like another? I can go grab us a couple.”

“Sure, that would be great. I’ll go in with you, though, I have to use the restroom.”

After she’d used the bathroom, Kat looked around the pub for Niall but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Figuring he’d headed outside already, Kat took the opportunity to sneak up to the bar, needed a small boost of courage.

After clarifying that her state ID would work to be able to use her credit card, Kat asked the bartender for a shot, “of anything, really.”

So she couldn’t really complain when he brought her some kind of whiskey, which she shot back as quickly as possible with a grimace.

Hustling back outside, she found Niall standing near a tall table by the door, two fresh beers sitting on it. “Oh man, someone swiped our seat,” Kat said, noticing that their previous sitting location was now occupied by three girls.

“Suppose that’s the risk you run when someone doesn’t stay behind.”

“Sorry, I really had to pee,” she apologized. _And get a little liquid courage_.

“No problem, I don’t mind standin'. Ya okay with it?” he asked. It was such an adjustment for her to have him be nice to her that she was having a hard time processing it. After a slight delay, she shook her head at him, giving him a bit of a smile to indicate that she was fine with their new positions.

She was fine, that is, until he looked around and stepped closer to her, bending down slightly and whispering in her ear, “‘M going to kiss ya now, alright? Try not make it look like this is the first time we’re doing it, yeah?”

Kat gulped and tried to control her facial expression. She hadn’t realized they were already to this point in the evening, she’d thought they’d have more time for some reason. _Just pretend this is all a play_ , she told herself, _none of this is real_.

Niall pulled back slightly and raised his hand to her cheek, brushing the skin there with his thumb. He gave her a soft smile as he looked into her eyes, then leaned in and gave her a gentle, slightly open-mouthed kiss. 

Despite her mental preparation, Kat sucked in a surprised breath as soon as their lips met. Her brain completely shut down and she felt paralyzed, not knowing what she should do with her hands, with her arms, with any part of her body. In that moment, she had no recollection of what she had done any of the other countless times she’d been kissed in her life. 

After a moment, Niall moved his mouth back to her ear, his warm breath fanning over her cheek. “Pretty weak, Kate, felt like I was snoggin’ a statue. Help me out a bit, will ya?”

This time, aided by the fact that Niall calling her the wrong name (seriously, could there be any better reminder that this wasn’t real in the slightest? The man didn’t even know her actual name), Kat snapped out of it sufficiently to return his second kiss, to slide her arms up his chest and put them around his neck. As the kiss continued, his lips moving over hers, she unconsciously began sifting her fingers through the soft hair on the back of his head. 

Niall ended the kiss but stayed close to her. “That’ll do, thanks. No need to go all out on this first one. Save a little somethin’ for later.” He smiled at her again, then kissed her forehead before moving back to her side, slipping an arm around her waist casually. 

Kat attempted to appear unaffected, although she figured a slightly breathless, sweet smile up at him was warranted given the situation. Might as well give the paps, as well as the several camera phones currently trained on them (people were nowhere near as stealthy about it as they seemed to think they were being), something to work with.

He was good, she had to give him that. A totally cool customer about the whole thing. Although she could have done without his implication that she got a little too into it, not that he was wrong, exactly. It just wasn’t necessary for him to point it out.

The thing is, Kat had kissed strangers before. Many times, really. Kissing was fun and something Kat had always enjoyed. She was absolutely, firmly, pro-kissing.

But this didn’t feel like any of those other kisses. Perhaps because there wasn’t as much alcohol involved this time. And because there were so many eyes trained on them. And he wasn’t precisely a stranger, as she was actually, technically at least, living with him. 

For a lot of reasons, really, none worth thinking about all that much. 

She risked another look over at Niall and found him licking his lips, brow furrowed. “Uh, why do ya taste like whiskey?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "Closer" by Tegan & Sara
> 
> Feel free to say hi (or ask any questions you might have or point out any errors you catch) on [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you'd like!


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up the next day, Kat didn’t have the same moment of panic that she’d had previously. In its place, she had some serious butterflies thinking about Niall and their “date” the night before. She was trying to keep her feet on the ground about the whole thing -- she knew unequivocally that this all was fake fake fake. And yet...

The rest of the night had been great, they’d continued to chat, eventually able to grab a spot in another seating area. Niall had been approached by a few different groups of people who’d gotten pictures taken with him, but everyone had been respectful and brief. Kat had felt several curious gazes, no doubt wondering who exactly she was (or, more accurately, who she was to Niall) but, again, everyone was polite and non intrusive in their interactions with her. 

Niall had been super affectionate with her the rest of the evening, putting his arm around her on the couch and cuddling her close while they laughed and talked. He’d kissed her briefly one more time and it had went smoothly, Kat participating but not getting embarrassingly over into it like she had the first time. 

All in all, it had been a pretty perfect evening. They’d both fairly quiet on the ride home, although Niall had answered Kat’s questions about the area and different businesses they passed by as he drove, but it was the good kind of quiet, comfortable and relaxed.

So yeah, a good night.

Kat showered and if she maybe took a little extra time getting ready before heading out to the kitchen to get breakfast, well, no one would really know. Niall was already lounging on the sectional in front of the TV, watching golf. He didn’t really respond to her called out, “good morning!” but she figured he was just into the match. 

She went into the kitchen and got a bowl of cereal, pleased she remembered where things were well enough to find her way around. It was amazing the difference a day could make.

Feeling a bit odd about sitting at the dining room table by herself while Niall was in the next room, Kat took her cereal out to the living room, sitting at the end of the sectional, away from where Niall was reclining, his feet propped up on the coffee table. 

Before she could ask if it was okay to have food in the living room, Niall said, without moving his eyes away from the television screen, “Could ya not eat that in here? Thanks.”

Kat hopped right up, her face red. “Of course, sorry,” she mumbled, slinking into the dining room to eat, in shame, by herself. 

She got it. Some people didn’t like food outside of designated eating areas. She just would have felt better about things if she hadn’t seen him eat there himself. Two times. In the 48ish hours she’d been staying with him.

So it was pretty clearly a “her” thing and not a food thing. 

Niall walked by when she was still eating, on his way to the kitchen, and she tried to meet his eye and give him a smile, to let him know she wasn’t offended or anything. But, again, he didn’t look at her. Either on his way to the kitchen or back.

Oh.

So, okay. They were back to the previous state of things, where he ignored her and they didn’t speak unless absolutely necessary. Good to know.

As she hurried to wolf down her cereal as quickly as possible so she could escape back to her room, her phone buzzed with an incoming text from Marnie. 

> _Great work last night, here are the links to a couple of articles! You guys looked great together!_

Kat nervously clicked on the first link and an article in a newspaper called _The Sun_. There were all sorts of pictures of the two of them from the night prior and she quickly scrolled through those to make sure there weren’t any super unflattering ones of her. There weren’t, thankfully, but they were all pretty mortifying in that she looked completely and utterly smitten with him in any where she was looking at him. Which was most of them.

But whatever, she supposed she could play that off as acting, plus, Niall had done a pretty believable job of looking like he cared about her as well, which she had concrete evidence that that was NOT true. 

Once the pictures were analyzed and dismissed, Kat read the actual text of the article they were included in. As she read, she became more and more incredulous about the story, noting phrases like “all over each other” and “couldn’t keep their hands off each other” used to describe their interactions. Kat scrolled back and forth on her phone to double check that there wasn’t some picture of them dry humping on the outdoor sofa that she’d missed, but there wasn’t anything like that (she figured she would have remembered such a thing happening but she couldn’t be certain). 

It was a fairly lengthy article although it didn’t really say much. But there were literally only two sentences outlining who she was. Otherwise, it only described what they’d done that night (not terribly accurately but close enough) and went through Niall’s entire dating history (which she read through with great interest, although she wasn’t sure of the truth of any of it, given the rest of the shit in the article).

The other articles weren’t much better, although the one from a website called Sugarscape was very cute and tongue in cheek about the whole thing. 

As much as she wanted to just hide out from Niall after his clear dismissal of her this morning, she waited until there was a commercial and approached the couch.

“Uh, Niall?” An auspicious beginning.

He looked over at her, at least. “Yeah?”

“Did Marnie send you the articles?”

“Yeah, they looked fine to me.” He looked back at the television, even though it was just some kind a laundry detergent commercial on.

Undeterred, she pushed on, looking down at the article in question on her phone as she spoke to him. “Is this a real paper, _The Sun_? I mean, not a tabloid? This is some piss poor writing, yikes. And it basically doesn’t say anything real, just my name and where I’m from. Didn’t your management talk to them -- I thought they set this whole thing up?”

With a slight laugh, Niall turned back to her. “Yeah, it’s a real paper although they are a bit like a tabloid, so I get where you’re comin’ from. Who knows about what Modest! told ‘em, but I suppose no one cares about the details, really. ‘Cept the fans, they’ll know everything about ya by tomorrow.”

Well. That was … that was terrifying, frankly. Not that she really had any skeletons in her closet but still. She felt a bit sick thinking about it.

The golf had started back up so Niall’s attention was diverted once again. Her thoughts a million miles away, Kat went back into her room.

Just before she disappeared through the door, Niall shouted at her, “We’ll go to the grocers this afternoon, alright?”

“Sure,” Kat replied, distracted. Not like she had anything else going on anyway.

*

Another day, yet another drive around whatever part of London Niall lived in in his Range Rover. Kat was so over it by this point that she brought her Kindle with, not even pretending they might speak to each other.

Kat wasn’t surprised this time when Niall grabbed her hand as they were walking into the store, she even managed a believable looking smile in his direction, although it hardly had the same besotted feel to it as the gazes she’d displayed on their date. Kat was sure that was fine, surely she wasn’t expected to be mooning over him at the grocery store.S he didn’t even try to find the photographers this time, she was sure they were out there somewhere.

The store he’d taken her to, Sainsbury’s, looked pretty much like a store back home, which was reassuring. All Kat really wanted to get were some basic snack foods so she’d have something to eat in case another meal like the Indian food one happened again.

“Okay, whatcha need?” Niall asked, after he’d grabbed a shopping cart. Now that they were in public again, he clearly had his boyfriend hat on and was back to talking to her as though it wasn’t a chore.

“Um, could we maybe get some chips?” she asked, still unsure of where she stood with him.

“Crisps, you mean?” he teased.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Yes, I meant crisps and not french fries.” She followed Niall over a few aisles, trying to keep up with him. Both physically and with his behavior changes.

As she was perusing the selection, she held up one particular bag and asked Niall incredulously, “This isn’t a real thing, is it? Prawn cocktail? That sounds positively foul. And what the fuck does ‘fizzy melty’ mean, like it dissolves in your mouth? In what world is that a good thing?”

Niall laughed and grabbed the bag out of her hand. “Oh, we’re absolutely gettin’ those now. They’re good, you’ll see.”

Kat shuddered. “I highly doubt that.” She continued to look over the other choices. “You guys have entirely too many meat flavored chips, it’s unreal. Does anyone really want a roast beef flavored chip?”

“Sure they do. We’ll get those too.”

“Could we just get some Doritos too? Or plain chips of some sort? I’m just going to assume those are going to be disgusting so I want a fall-back option.”

“Get whatever ya want, Kate, ya don’t need my approval.”

She put some nacho Doritos in the cart and called it good. “Okay, do you have mac n cheese? I’m sure you do. And can we hit the dairy case? Wouldn’t mind getting some--”

Kat’s sentence was cut off by the sound of squealing from the end of the aisle. Three girls in their late teens rushed towards them, their eyes locked on Niall.

They immediately began babbling at Niall, telling him how much they loved him and One Direction and asking him all sorts of questions. He handled it with grace, smiling and laughing along with them. 

“You’re Katherine, right?” one of the girls asked her while her friends were otherwise occupied fawning over Niall.

Kat was shocked. The article had only come out that morning, how could people know who she was already?

“Yeah, you can call me Kat though. And what was your name?” she asked.

“Julie.”

“Nice to meet you. You want me to take a picture of you guys with Niall? I don’t mind.”

“That would be awesome, thank you so much!” she gushed, handing Kat her cell phone.

As her friends were still chatting with Niall, Julie turned back to Kat. “How long have you and Niall been together? How did you guys even meet?” she asked, her tone sounding merely curious rather than accusatory.

“Um...” Kat began but Julie’s friends pulled her over into their conversation with Niall. After they’d all calmed down a bit, Kat took their picture, the girls’ smiles stretching across their faces.

Julie was bouncing on her toes, clearly so delighted to have met Niall. She gave Kat a quick hug as her friend was yanking on her hand to leave, and said, “Thank you so much, Niall, thanks, Kat! Bye!”

Kat could tell Niall was pissed as the girls walked away and assumed it was because he wasn’t feeling up to doing fan service that day or maybe he was miffed that he even bothered to take her shopping. Or, he was just filled with the general rage being with her seemed to cause him. She figured she wouldn’t have long to be in suspense.

She was right.

As soon as the girls were out of hearing range, he spoke to her in a low tone, spitting the words out,“Jesus Christ, I know I haven’t been the warmest to ya, but ya could have told me I was calling ya the wrong fuckin’ name. Does everyone else know ya go by Kat?”

“Um, I told the other guys at your practice the other day?” she said, knowing that wasn’t what he would want to hear.

“Fuck me. I’m sure they’re all laughing it up about that. Ya made me look like an absolute git to them, ya realize that?”

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention. Assuming ‘git’ is a negative term, that is. It’s just, it didn’t really seem to matter, you know? It’s not like we really talk that much and I figured if anyone overheard you, we could just play it off as like your pet name for me or something. And you know my actual full name, you just shortened it incorrectly. So not really that big of a deal,” she said with a shrug.

At her words, he seemed to deflate somewhat, his shoulders dropping. “Fuck, maybe I am an arsehole.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “Let’s finish up, alright? I’d really like to get out of here as soon as we can, before those girls text their friends and we have a million people here.”

“Sure,” Kat agreed quietly. It was draining, pretty much solely being around this person that didn’t want you there. Any excitement she’d felt about their outing, about checking out the new and different foods available in England, had been completely sucked out of the day by their exchange. 

She grabbed a few more simple food choices and they checked out. Kat didn’t even bother trying to argue with him over who would pay, she was so defeated by everything. She just wanted to get home -- scratch that -- she just wanted to get back to Niall’s house so she could go hide in her room. While she was waiting, she shot a quick text to Becca, hoping they could talk, like actually speak to each other, on the phone, at some point.

Kat tried to keep a smile on her face as they left the store, bags preventing them from holding hands again, thankfully. Once in the car, she rested her face against the glass, which was quickly becoming her new default position for traveling with Niall, and they drove back to his place -- by way of his precious chicken restaurant, he just ran in himself after Kat told him to get whatever -- in silence.

To add insult to injury, Kat got a text from Marnie saying that they’d be going on another date again the next night.

Just perfect.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, just before they got back to Niall’s, Kat got another text from Marnie.

> _Oh and be sure to get a cute picture of the two of you around the house and put it on Instagram!_

So the combo of all those things left Kat feeling close to hysterical by the time she got to her room. She told Niall to go ahead and eat without her, as she needed to make a call. 

Exacerbating the situation was the fact that Becca hadn’t yet responded to her text request to talk. Kat looked at the world clock on her phone and saw that it was midmorning in Lincoln so she was likely at work and not checking her cell. 

Feeling desperate, she shot Becca an email to her work account asking if Kat could call her asap. She got a fairly instantaneous response, giving her the go-ahead to make the call.

Just hearing Becca’s voice made her feel quite a bit better. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Kat explained what had happened the last couple of days to Becca as she paced around the room, careful to keep her voice down lest Niall accidentally overhear her.

“It’s just, like obviously, clearly, I know it’s not real. I mean, he’s barely even decent to me when we’re not in public, but I see how he is with everyone else and then when he’s forced to act like he likes me, it’s just … he’s just magnetic, you know? And just so bright and funny and present, he’s like actual human sunshine and … yeah, he’s just … and I’m just … I’m … ” Kat trailed off, then sighed. “What I am is a huge fucking idiot.”

“You’re not, Kat, you’re just human. He’s gorgeous and he seems like he must be a good guy, when he’s not being forced into a situation beyond his control. Who wouldn’t be attracted to that, honestly?” Becca asked, her voice kind.

“Well, I need to figure out a way to not be. He’s completely not interested and even if he were, there’s no future in it. I guess I’m glad that he’s a decent enough guy to not just sleep with me-slash-use me for the duration of the contract, then leave me a heartbroken mess next May. Or maybe he isn’t that good of a person and he just finds me personally repellant.”

“He doesn’t think you’re repellent, you idiot. Pretty sure it’s nothing about you and everything about the situation. I mean, if you think about it, someone being essentially paid to pretend to date you would be a serious boner killer.”

“Shockingly, I haven’t found that to be the case for myself. But I get what you’re saying, it’s not a super sexy situation. I just wish we could find some sort of middle ground where he’s not a dick to me constantly.”

“I’m sure you’ll get there. Kat, I know you’re panicking and feeling terrible right now, but you’ve literally only been there a couple of days. You guys are just adjusting to each other and I bet it’ll get easier as time goes on.”

“You think?” Kat asked, feeling hopeful for the first time since that morning.

“I do. Just give it a while. And try not to lose your temper with him in the meantime -- I mean, you don’t have to kiss his ass or anything and certainly don’t just take it if he’s actively mean to you, but don’t lose it on him to such a degree that you guys can’t come back from it, you know? You’ve still got a whole year of doing this ahead of you.”

“God, I love you, Becca. Thank you so much for being there for me. I’m so sorry to bother you at work about this, I just needed to talk to someone before I completely melted down.”

“Understandable. So what’s up next for the happy couple?” Becca joked.

“Well, I have to go eat this magical chicken with him right now, although saying I’m eating ‘with’ him is a stretch when we don’t speak or look at each other the entire time. Thank God for phones and ebooks. And tomorrow we have another date, so he’ll have to be nice to me then. Oh shit, I totally forgot that I’m supposed to put some sort of pic on Instagram of the two of us tonight, do you have any ideas?”

“Hm. Well, you’ll want to do something that looks natural, right? What does Niall like to do?”

“Eat? Drink beer? Watch golf? Be a total bastard to me?” Kat suggested.

“Not useful, Katherine. But you could use the other ones -- maybe something with the two of you watching golf and drinking a beer? Or while you’re eating?”

“Those are good ideas, thanks. What would I do without you?”

“Oh, you’d have thought of something, I’m sure. Listen, I’d better get back to it. Call later if you need more help though, okay? Love you!”

“Love you too, talk soon.” Kat disconnected and flopped back on the bed. Becca’s pep talk was just what she needed. She needed to suck it up and do her job. She took a breath and went out to eat with Niall.

After she’d filled her plate and joined Niall at the dining room table (judging from how much food was left, it looked like he was on his second or third helping, not that there wasn’t still plenty left -- he’d totally overbought), Kat decided to get his input on the whole picture thing as well, since he was the social media expert of the two of them.

“Marnie said I need to put something up on Instagram, do you have any ideas that will look believable? I’ve never really been the type of person to put my relationships on social media so I’m not much use here.”

“‘M no use for that either. I’d take a picture in the living room, though, the fans will all recognize it as I’m always postin' pictures of the telly in there.” 

“Good idea. I’ll marinate on it and let you know, maybe just get it done right after dinner so it’s all taken care of, if that works for you?” Kat was trying to take Becca’s comments into account and treat him with a bit of kindness. He was in a shitty situation, they both were, and being mean to him wouldn’t help anything. If only he could come around to thinking the same way about her, but she supposed there was no better way to encourage that than by leading by example.

“Sounds good.” He stood up. “I’m gonna grab another beer, ya want one?”

“Sure, what do you have?”

“Got Stella, Guinness, and Harp, I think.”

“I’ll take a Guinness. Thanks.”

Although not particularly inspired, after they had eaten, Kat finally decided that a simple selfie of the two of them on the couch would work, so she tagged him, captioned it, and posted the damn thing.

_**kathamilton92** : Such a lucky girl: golf on the TV, Guinness, and this guy to enjoy both with!_

Amidst her Instagram subsequently blowing up with likes and comments, she texted Becca that night before wisely turning her phone off for the evening: 

> **When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong: that fucking chicken IS magical.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is "Stubborn Love" by The Lumineers ("the opposite of love's indifference")


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, was a bit late getting this chapter out this week! Hope you like it! :)

Kat hadn’t realized what a firestorm she’d set off with posting the picture of the two of them on her Instagram account. For starters, as only the British press had wrote about their relationship, her posting the picture was the first the majority of her friends and family back home were hearing about who she was dating. 

Which might not have been that big of a deal if she was just seeing some person she worked with or had met through friends, but as the guy in question was a member of one of the biggest pop acts in the world, it was apparently the very definition of a BIG DEAL.

And she had the text and phone messages to prove it. Roughly three quarters of her contact list had messaged her in some way about it. Nevermind all the direct messages and comments she’d gotten from randoms.

Niall was still eating breakfast when she emerged from her bedroom a while later, after only checking a few of the messages. 

“You’re kind of a big deal, aren’t you?” she asked, scrolling through her texts on her phone as she walked.

“What?” he huffed, not sounding quite awake. She could still see the pillow creases on his face, which shouldn’t be cute but somehow was.

“Simmer. I just meant that I’ve gotten roughly a billion messages since I posted that picture. People are fa-reaking out. I guess I should have realized it after all the follows and messages I got after you just followed me, but this puts that all to shame. I’m kind of scared to check my DMs, I’m sure they’ll be death threats, people who are pissed that we’re ‘dating.’”

“Ya don’t have to do the finger quote thing, I know we’re not dating,” Niall said dryly. 

“You’re kind of grumpy this morning, huh? I get it, I’m not really a morning person either.” Kat sat her phone by her spot at the table and went into the kitchen to get something to eat. “You need anything, while I’m in here?”

“Nah, I’m set. Thanks.”

As she finished up buttering her toast, Kat heard the chirp of her incoming text message alert. She really should just silence the damn thing for a few days, honestly.

“You got a message, Kate, I mean, Kat,” Niall said, his voice sounding weird.

Walking back into the dining room, Kat looked down at her phone (which she noticed had been moved closer to where Niall was sitting) and saw the message from Eric that had popped up.

> _Did ya fuck him yet?_

“Oh Jesus, did you see that? Nevermind, obviously you did. I’m sorry, that’s just my friend Eric, he’s, like, the most inappropriate person ever. It’s part of his charm, really.” Kat looked over at Niall, trying to gauge how offended he was.

“What are ya goin' to say to him?” he asked, but resumed eating so Kat figured they were okay.

“I’ll just dodge the question, not so hard to do over text.”

“What about when ya go home in a few weeks, what will ya tell him then?” he pushed.

Kat wasn’t sure where his interest was coming from but the fact that he was talking to her seemed like a good thing. “I don’t know, I haven’t thought that far ahead. What difference does it make anyway? You worried I’ll impugn your virtue or something?” she teased.

He snorted, then shrugged. “Just curious. Hadn’t really thought about how you’ll have to lie to all your friends and family about all this. I mean, beyond the big overall lie, that we’re datin'. It’s all the little lies that will be harder, I’d think.”

“Well, I don’t plan on telling my parents anything at all about our pretend sex life, so I’m good there. And most of my friends wouldn’t ask, or if they did, I could act all offended because, seriously, none of their business. It’s the close friends like Eric that will be trickier. We’re usually pretty open about that kind of stuff too. You know, for once I’m actually glad I don’t have all that many close friends.”

“Would we have slept together?”

“Uh, what?” Kat was sure she’d heard him wrong. There’s no way he actually just asked her...

“I mean, if this were real, would we have slept together by now? When you think about it, on one hand we’ve only spent like five days together or there abouts, but on the other hand, you flew all the way over here to hang out with me and we’ve been livin' together since then, so...”

Kat was flabbergasted and didn’t have the first clue what to say to him. “Uh…”

“Whatever, ya don’t have to answer, ‘m just talkin’.” he said, waving the question off with his spoon.

“You’re not sneakily trying to slut shame me, or anything, are you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Nah, course not. Just haven’t really thought through how all of this would work if it were really happenin'.” He seemed sincere in his interest.

“Um, well, then, I suppose if we were actually together, that this was a real thing and I really liked you -- uh, this works better in the hypothetical, I think -- if I liked _this person_ after we’d met in LA and we’d been talking since then … Then I guess probably? I mean, I’d probably have slept with yo -- er, that person by now, I guess. If they wanted to as well, of course. I don’t really have any rules about when I will or won’t sleep with someone, like a three date thing or whatever. Seems kinda arbitrary.”

“Hm.”

“Aha, I knew it, you were trying to slut shame me!”

“Jesus, I wasn’t. I was just thinkin’, don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Whatever, this is a weird conversation anyway. I can’t handle whatever kind of mind game you’re trying to play with me this early in the morning.”

“It’s noon,” Niall pointed out, unhelpfully.

“Yeah, well, I’m still on central standard time.”

“Sure, Kat, sure.”

As she stalked away, Niall called out to her, “Don’t forget our date tonight, supposed to go to dinner this time. Thinkin' we’d go to this nice Indian place I love.”

Kat stopped short, shoulders tense, trying to think of some way she could get him to change the restaurant, only to hear him chuckling before she could think of anything to say. She cocked her head, waiting for whatever was coming next, but refused to turn and face him.

“Just kiddin’, knew ya didn’t like it the other night. Never seen anyone eat that much naan before. Ya could have said somethin', ya know. Will steak work better for ya?”

Kat exhaled, still not turning around. “Sure, steak would be great.”

So he was observant, good to know. Jerk.

*

“What do you want me to say to fans if they stop me? About how we met, how long we’ve been dating, all that stuff? One of those girls at the store asked me last week and I had no idea how to handle it. They gave me some sort of PR 101 when I was in LA but that was more how to handle myself in front of the press and what to do with my Instagram account. They didn’t really prepare me at all for fans which is actually where I need the most help. They seem like they’re not afraid to ask me anything,” Kat asked Niall on the way to dinner that night. They hadn’t really talked all that much during the rest of the day but things hadn’t seemed as tense overall. Kat was hopeful that they might be on the path to at least a low level of mutual respect.

“I don’t rightly care. Just tell me whatever ya decide so I can repeat it if it comes up. Keep it simple, would be my suggestion. And close to the truth,” Niall replied, his voice the vocal equivalent of a shrug. 

“Don’t you sound like an accomplished liar?” she said, not trying to sound like she was judging him. Although clearly she was judging him.

“I’m actually a complete shite liar, that’s just common sense advice there.”

Kat grumbled.

“What was that?” Niall asked, the smirk evident in his tone.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Kat felt like an old pro by this point, easily adjusting to Niall’s slight variation in their routine when he put his arm around her instead of holding her hand when they got out of the car. 

What she wasn’t prepared for, however, were the sheer volume of photographers between them and the restaurant -- clearly this was some next level paparazzi shit. It quickly became obvious why Niall had chosen to keep her closer as the photographers pushed in around them, almost knocking her off her feet at one point. Thankfully Niall was able to keep her upright and they managed to get safely into the restaurant. 

“Fuck,” Niall said as they paused for a moment in the lobby. “I should have brought Basil with. Marnie didn’t tell me there’d be that many paps. Ya okay?”

Kat was slightly shook up, but relatively unscathed. “Yeah, that was intense though. Is that normal for you?”

“It can be, but usually only when I’m with one of the other guys. On my own, I don’t usually attract that much attention. So it must be all for you.” He smiled at her.

“Yeah, sure, that seems legit. This sort of thing tends to happen wherever I go. You should see the reaction when I go home for football games. Total mayhem.” She fake shuddered, making Niall laugh.

They were seated at a table near the front window which seemed a bit obvious to Kat (seriously, what celebrity would choose to be sat anywhere but a nice, quiet corner?) but she guessed there was no point in subtlety when you were crafting a completely phony relationship.

Once they’d gotten their drinks and put in their food orders (steaks for both of them although Niall seemed slightly horrified that she’d ordered hers rare), Kat seized the opportunity to ask him about something that had been on her mind since her first day in the UK.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kat said, a bit nervous about her question.

“Sure,” Niall replied easily. Kat was thankful that public boyfriend Niall was so much easier to talk to than the real Niall.

Kat kept her voice low. “So … Harry and Louis are together. And Liam and Zayn.” Watching rehearsals that day, it had been pretty clear to Kat that Zayn and Liam were in a relationship and she’d been so fascinated watching them that she almost missed the slightly more subtle evidence of Harry and Louis being a couple as well. Had she not recently been exposed to the inner workings of fake celebrity relationships, she might have bought in more to the public images that their management had crafted for each of the guys but knowing what she did, it was pretty obvious to see the connections between Zayn and Liam, as well as Louis and Harry, weren’t of the platonic sort. At all. They hadn’t done anything obvious at all but there was a difference between two friends messing around and a couple interacting.

“And? I don’t hear a question in there,” he replied, not seeming put out by the discussion.

“Oh, sorry, that was my question -- it’s you and two couples in the band? I mean, I was pretty sure but they’re all legitimately together?”

“They are, I’m the odd one out. Tommo and Haz have been together since pretty much day one while Liam and Z took a bit longer, but yeah, bunch of married folk and me. Which is why we’ve always got a series of stunt girlfriends in tow. Can’t have any gays in a boyband, ya know. Would devastate the fanbase.”

“Do you really think that’s true?” Kat asked, her brow furrowed. Niall didn’t seem homophobic in the slightest -- he clearly adored his bandmates -- but she supposed he could be.

“Course I don’t think that but honestly, it doesn’t really matter what I think. What any of us lads think. That’s what management believes and as they’ve got all the power, what they believe is all that counts.”

“I’m not sure I understand, how can that possibly be true?” she questioned. 

“We’re under contract with them, kinda like you are right now. And there are all sorts of image rights and conduct clauses that say we can’t do anything to hurt sales, and so on.” He paused and sighed. “To be honest, I’d rather not go into it, it’s depressing shite.”

“Sure, I get it, we don’t need to talk about it right now. Or at all really. Thanks for answering my questions though.” Kat felt angry for them, madder still when she remembered her conversation with her uncle when he reassured her that Niall wasn’t gay. She hadn’t realized how close to the truth she was. Thinking about that made her really want to clear one last thing up.

“I have one more question, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” she said.

“Go ahead,” Niall said, taking a drink. “By the way, I gotta say that I’m pretty impressed that ya figured out about the lads that quickly, usually takes people a bit longer to sort that out.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Kat said, then looked around to ensure no one was close enough to overhear. “Please know that I’m only asking this so I can get to know you a bit better, given how much time we’re going to be spending together this next year. Are you gay as well?”

Niall choked on his beer. 

Kat grimaced. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Niall managed to get his drink down. “Yeah yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t expectin’ that to be your question. But no, ‘m not gay.”

Kat felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. While it would have been easier in a lot of ways if there had been no chance of him ever being interested in her, she’d meant what she told her uncle: she wanted no part of closeting someone against their will. 

Afraid that Niall would see the expression on her face and misinterpret the reason for it, Kat rushed to explain, “Obviously it would have been totally fine if you were, but I have to say I am relieved to hear that. I specifically asked my uncle if you were gay and I would have been so pissed if he’d lied to me. I told him I wouldn’t help closet anyone, not if that isn’t what they wanted themselves, no matter what.”

“Your uncle?” Niall asked, face quizzical.

“Yeah, my uncle Steve works for Sony, he’s how I got this job.” Kat had thought Niall already knew this part, had assumed that Steve had told him when they’d both been in LA but apparently she’d been mistaken.

“Steve Anderson’s your uncle?” 

“Well, ex-uncle to be precise. He’s no longer married to my aunt so we’re technically nothing, really. We hadn’t even seen each other in years when he approached me about this.”

“I never thought to ask how ya got the job.” Niall leaned forward on his elbows, visibly interested in what she was saying. 

It was happening again, Kat could feel it, could feel herself falling under the spell of his undivided attention but she couldn’t seem to stop it. Even though she knew it was all a sham, even though she knew it would stop once they weren’t in public anymore. 

“I still don’t really understand why he asked me to do it. I’m sure they could have found roughly a billion girls that would be a better fit but whatever.” 

“‘M sure he had his reasons, sure he knows what he’s doing.”

“I guess.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by their food arriving, everything looking and smelling amazing. 

After they’d both eaten the majority of their meals, chit chatting as they did so, Kat felt like it was okay to pump Niall for information again. “Can I ask you another question?”

“Bit nervous after that last one, but sure.”

“How will it work for all the concerts coming up, like, will we stay in Dublin for those three concerts or do you fly back and forth? What’s a concert day look like? Who all’s coming to the concerts that I’ll have to meet? I know you said your family but who exactly all does that mean? Should I be studying up on this? Will they expect me to know all their names and stuff about them?”

“That was at least six questions, Kat,” Niall said, thankfully seeming to be merely amused rather than annoyed.

“I’ve been kind of stocking them up, I guess.”

“Well, you’ll have to let me know if I skip over any of your questions. Paul, our tour manager, sent us out a schedule for the next month or so, I can give it to you. We’re gonna be travelin’ back and forth from Dublin some -- we’ve got to do the Radio 1 show in Glasgow the day of the second show so that’ll be a crazy day, think we might be stayin’ in Dublin that night and the next, now that I talk about it. I don’t usually pay much mind to the schedule, honestly, I just go where they tell me to.”

“Yeah, I can’t do that, it stresses me out just thinking about it. I’d really appreciate getting that schedule if you wouldn’t mind.” 

Niall nodded, then continued, “As for me family, it’ll be Bobby, my dad; Maura and Chris, my mam and stepdad; my brother Greg and his wife Denise and my nephew, Theo. Some cousins too but those are the big ones.”

“So, what do your parents think?” Kat asked.

Niall gave her a blank look.

Again making sure she was being quiet, Kat explained, “I mean, does your family know this is set up? Or do they think we’re a real couple?”

“Haven’t had a chance to really chat with any of ‘em lately, so not sure what they think. S’pose they’ll assume it’s real, don’t know that they would think there was any reason it wouldn’t be. I mean, me mam knows about Haz and Lou and Li and Zayn but as I’m not gay, she wouldn’t think that’s what’s happenin' here. And there’s no reason for me to have a fake girlfriend in all the rest of ‘ems eyes, so …”

“Okay, good to know,” Kat said, trying not to freak out about the fact that she’d have to convince his whole family that they were really and truly a couple.

Niall insisted that they order dessert, despite Kat’s protests that she was way too full. When the beautiful brownie ice cream masterpiece arrived, Niall had the server put it in front of Kat rather than in the middle of the table, where they could share it.

“No way, bud,” Kat said, as soon as the server walked away, “no way I’m eating this all by myself. I didn’t even want anything!”

Niall stood up, walking around the table and sliding in next to her on her side of the booth. “Kat, you’ll never have to worry about eating anythin' by yourself if ya don’t want to when you’re around me. That much I can promise ya.”

“Isn’t this cozy?” Kat said as Niall began digging into the dessert, feeling slightly uncomfortable with him being so close. “I’m sure the pictures will be adorable.”

“That’s what I’m aiming for,” Niall said, flashing her a disarming smile. Kat ducked her head to avoid grinning back at him like a fool, instead grabbing her own spoon so she could try it before Niall demolished the entire thing.

She scooped up the perfect bite of mostly brownie, a little bit of ice cream, and an even littler bit of whipped cream. She groaned as soon as it hit her mouth, overwhelmed with how good it all tasted. She hurried to get another bite on her spoon but was interrupted by Niall before she could get it crafted.

“You’ve got a little chocolate sauce, right there,” he said, reaching up to wipe it off with his finger before Kat could react. He looked into her eyes, then back down to her mouth, his intent clear. Kat supposed that was as good of a moment as any to get their not-exactly-required-but-requested kiss out of the way. 

She let Niall make the move though, just in case she’d misinterpreted the signals he’d given her. 

She hadn’t and his hands come up to frame her face, pulling her towards him. Her eyes fluttered shut as their lips met, soft and warm. Kat continued to let Niall lead, not really sure just how real these kisses were supposed to be. 

Real or not, her heart hammered in her chest as his mouth opened and moved over hers. Instinct caused her to slightly push her tongue forward which she instantly stopped, snapping her eyes open, horrified by what she’d done. 

Luckily, Niall seemed to be unaware of both the inner workings of her mouth as well as her internal crisis over it, pulling back and giving her another small kiss before he moved away entirely.

“Now that that’s sorted, let’s get after this bad boy,” he said, grabbing his spoon once more and giving the dessert his entire focus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "High Hopes" by Kodaline


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, yeah, this one took me forever for some reason, sorry about that! But it's extra long so that's something, right? Hope you enjoy!

“First time on a private plane, Kat?” Harry asked, no doubt noting her wide eyes. He sat across from her, sprawled out comfortably in contrast to her upright -- and uptight -- posture.

“Um, yeah. I hadn’t even been to a foreign country besides Mexico for spring break before this whole thing. So yeah, this is a lot to take in. This … this is amazing.” She couldn’t stop looking around at everything.

“It’ll be old hat by the time you’re done with us. I remember the first time I was on a private plane, felt like such a big shot.”

“The difference is that you were -- and are -- a legitimate big shot. I’m only in the company of big shots. And I best not get used to this, flying regular ole commercial, in coach no less, is going to be very rough for me after this.”

In addition to her excitement over being in a private jet, Kat felt wound tight, as once again, Niall had been cold and distant that morning, as though they hadn’t had a fun date the night before. Kat was getting serious whiplash from his confusing and constant mood swings. She could handle them not being friends if that was the way he wanted it but this hot and cold bullshit had to stop.

Kat tried to put that all aside for the moment to appreciate her current surroundings. The private plane they were in was insane. There were sets of four seats facing each other, which felt more like recliners than the uncomfortable traditional airplane seats she was used to, with a table in between them, and on the other side of the plane was long, couch-like seating. Which would be amazing for a nap. 

Not that there was even really time for a nap on their flight -- it was roughly an hour and twenty minutes from London to Dublin. And Kat was too keyed up regardless. Clearly the others didn’t share her opinion though, as Niall and a couple of other people laid down shortly after take off and had been sleeping comfortably since then. 

There were a number of people on the flight that Kat didn’t know and Niall hadn’t introduced her to anyone. She saw Basil chatting with a couple of older guys, so maybe they were security as well? There were a few young guys as well (a couple of them quite cute, she couldn’t help but notice) but Kat had no idea who they might be -- perhaps just friends of the band? She figured she’d find out eventually. 

Or not, given Niall’s apparent lack of interest in making sure she knew who everyone was. Or maybe that had more to do with not wanting everyone to know who she was.

As the flight continued, Kat could feel herself getting more and more anxious about the day that was to come. She just hadn’t considered the possibility that she’d be meeting his family so soon. She should have, as she knew this leg of the tour started in Dublin, but she just hadn’t, given all the other concerns she had coming into this. 

Harry tried to talk to her several times, no doubt noting her nerves if not the reason for them, and while she tried to participate, her mind was too busy worrying to take an active part in the conversation. He eventually must have realized the futility of what he was doing and moved elsewhere in the plane, likely to talk to someone that was actually capable of responding to him.

Shortly before the plane was to touch down, Niall came over and sat in the seat next to her, buckling himself in.

“Ya alright, there? Look like you’re feelin’ a bit poorly. Does flyin’ not agree with ya?” he asked. Kat wondered if Harry had told him to come talk to her or if he had come to check on her of his own accord. 

“I’m just kind of freaking out. I mean, this is some next level lying. It’s one thing to hold your hand and kiss you occasionally in front of some photographers, but a whole evening with your family is terrifying. Not that they’re terrifying, I’m sure they’re lovely people, it’s just we’re going to have to act like a real couple for a loooong time, in front of people that know you really well. Even if we were a real couple, I’d be shitting myself over this, I’ve never gone home with anyone before, that’s a lot of pressure. I’m sure they’re going to be super unimpressed by me and wonder why the hell we’re together, I mean, you’ve dated models and pop stars, talk about a downgrade.” Kat could hear herself rambling but wasn’t able to control it.

“Hey, stop that. And I’ve never really brought anyone home with me before, not really, so they got nobody to compare ya to.”

Kat wasn’t even listening to him, too worked up to stress and hear what he was saying at the same time. She dropped her face into her hands. “God, they’re never going to believe this.”

“It won’t be hard at all. We like each other well enough, they’ll see that.” At Kat’s skeptical look, he added, “I like ya just fine.”

Kat lifted her head and continued to stare at him, raising her eyebrows. 

He sighed. “Ya know it’s not you I don’t like, it’s the situation. I hate that management keeps pulling this shite on us over and over again. It’s just always somethin’ with them. It’s exhausting. I never thought I’d have to get a beard as well.”

Kat couldn’t argue with what he was saying, she couldn’t imagine how frustrating this whole thing must be to them. And if nothing else, thinking about and empathizing with Niall’s position distracted her momentarily from her terror regarding meeting his family. 

Before she knew it, they had landed and deplaned, the entire experience vastly different than Kat’s experiences with flying commercial. She had wondered if there would be all sorts of paparazzi and fans at the airport, but shockingly there wasn’t and they went relatively unnoticed as they all loaded into different vehicles to take them to the concert venue.

Kat found herself in a SUV with Niall, Zayn, and a few members of their security detail, including Basil. 

Kat couldn’t not gape out the window at all she was seeing; she’d done the same on the way to the airport in London. Since it didn’t seem like she’d actually get to do any actual sightseeing as the band couldn’t really leave their hotels without causing a fan riot, she was going to take advantage of every opportunity she could to see some of the beautiful cities they’d be travelling to.

“How far away is Mullingar from here?” Kat asked, looking over at Niall, who smiled at her question. “What, did I say it wrong?”

“Not wrong, exactly, just sounds different in your accent. About 80 kilometers.” At her blank look, he said, “I don’t know what that is in miles. But it takes an hour, hour and a half to get there, if that helps.”

“It does. Did you come to Dublin a lot growing up?”

“Fair amount, yeah. Was always the big city where we’d go for big outings as Mullingar’s a pretty small town.”

“Like how small?” she asked, both because she was interested and because he seemed happy when he spoke about his hometown. And she couldn’t help but appreciate a happy Niall.

“Population’s about 20,000, I think,” he guessed.

“Sheesh, that’s not small. My hometown’s only 400.”

“Yeah, you win that one, no question.” 

They pulled into the parking lot of a massive stadium and Kat was suddenly quite glad for the dark tinted windows of the vehicle they were in as there were hundreds of people, largely teenage girls from the look of them, standing around the street entrance to where they were going in. But the SUV took them safely through the gates and closer to the actual building, so they didn’t have to get too close to the pandemonium. 

Still, Niall, being the consummate professional that he was, made sure to assist her as they exited the vehicle and held her hand on the short way into the stadium, as they were technically within view of the crowd.

Of course, he dropped the act, and her hand, the minute they were safely inside. 

She was forced to trail after him as he walked briskly down the interior corridor, as she didn’t have the faintest idea of where to go or what she was supposed to be doing while the guys no doubt readied themselves for the show. As he’d promised, Niall had given her the schedule from Paul, but it lacked the details that she really wanted -- it was more of a rough outline of where they needed to be and when, not a minute-by-minute itinerary of what was happening. Which made sense, this was the band’s third world tour, they didn’t likely need such an overload of information. 

For Kat though, whose only real guide through this new adventure was a man that often decided not to speak to her, such a glut of info would be a godsend. 

Kat found herself unceremoniously dumped in some sort of main lounge area which was teeming with people, all of whom seemed to have a task and were busy doing their jobs. Everyone but Kat, who had no job. 

Well, not like a real job that involved actually doing something. 

So instead, she sat like an awkward lump on a super plush sofa, pretending to be enthralled by something on her phone, as she sunk deeper and deeper into the couch’s cushions. She wished she’d brought her Kindle but she’d stupidly left it with the stuff they were transporting to the hotel. 

So the phone it was. After a bit, Kat was actually legitimately engrossed in her game of Hay Day when someone plopped down next to her, shocking her into dropping her phone onto her lap.

“Hey, thought I’d say hi since no one’s introduced us. So hi, I’m Josh. I’m the drummer.” The guy sitting next to her had an infectious grin that she couldn’t stop herself from returning. She guessed he was about her age and he looked like he could be an actual member of One Direction with his backwards cap, adorable face, and arms full of tattoos. 

“Hi, I’m Kat. I’m, uh, with Niall.” She clearly needed to work on that. 

“That’s right, I heard about you. Good to have you here.” Kat tried not to panic at the whole ‘heard about you’ bit. 

“Thanks, it’s good to be here,” Kat said as she figured a little white lie was warranted given the situation. She wasn’t sure if the musical band knew or would eventually know that their relationship wasn’t real, but it certainly wasn’t her place to tell them anything about it. 

“Do you want to meet the other lads in the band? They’re all around here somewhere.” He peered around the room, clearly trying to find them. “Ah, there they are.”

“I’d love that. I haven’t gotten a chance to meet very many people at all, really. And, uh, Niall’s busy getting ready for the show.” _Jesus, get it together,_ Kat told herself. Josh didn’t seem to notice her awkward stuttering as he launched himself off the couch, grabbing Kat’s hand to pull her up from its depths as well. 

Once they were both upright, Kat realized how short Josh was, he wasn’t more than an inch or two taller than her and she was wearing flats. She followed him over to the other side of the room where a few men that she somewhat recognized from the plane that morning stood around chatting. 

“Hey, this is Niall’s Kat. Kat, this is Jon, he’s on keyboards, also the musical director, and Sandy plays bass guitar.” Both guys smiled and waved, which Kat returned. The third member of their group was bent over tying his shoe before he stood up to his full height, which, again, wasn’t all that much taller than Kat.

“And this is Dan, he’s our guitar man.” Kat felt herself blushing slightly as soon as he looked at her fully. Damn, he was cute. Brown hair, a really sweet, wholesome looking face with great eyes. Totally her type. Fuck. That was really … inconvenient, to say the least. 

Well, she supposed he wouldn’t be the first nor the last person she’d be attracted to that she’d meet in the upcoming year, so might as well learn to deal with it early on, right?

“Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling at them all, making sure not to focus just on Dan.

“Oh, you’re American?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, I’m --” Kat turned as she heard a bit of commotion from the entrance, seeing Niall and Liam entering the room, Liam’s arm around an older woman, while an older gentleman chatted with Niall. 

Josh bumped his shoulder with Kat’s. “Looks like it’s meet the in-laws time,” he said with a laugh.

Kat blanched. Oh God no, she wasn’t ready, there had to be a way out of this, maybe Niall wouldn’t see her and she could slip out of the room. Surely in the entirety of the backstage area at this massive stadium there was a place for one smallish person to hide, surely…

Just as she was searching for an inconspicuous exit, she heard Liam say, “Ah, there she is!”

Knowing it was too late to escape unnoticed, Kat said a quick goodbye to the guys she was talking to and turned around to face her doom. As she did, she saw the surprised look the woman she recognized as Maura, Niall’s mother, flashed Niall when she caught sight of Kat. Kat figured that Maura had seen the articles written about them and likely dismissed them as the crap that was typically written about her son, but Kat’s presence backstage suggested there might be some actual truth this time. Little did Maura know that the fact that she was there only indicated that it was managment sponsored crap, but no more legitimate than the whole “violently masturbating” story about Niall had been (discovering that story online so made her wish they were friends so she could tease him about it).

Kat braced her shoulders and walked over to them, trying to plaster a sincere looking smile on her face. Niall and the rest of his group met her halfway, with Niall stepping towards her and wrapping his arm around her waist. 

“Ma, Chris, this is Kat.” He grinned down at her, as always surprising Kat with his ability to act like he actually liked her. “Kat, this is Maura and Chris.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Kat said, stepping forward to shake each of their hands. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet ya as well,” Chris replied. They both gave off a genuinely sweet air which calmed Kat’s nerves significantly. 

“Is it alright if Kat watches the show with you tonight? Think she’d have more fun with you than back here.” Niall ran his hand over her back as he spoke to his family. Which kind of ramped her nerves back up again, although in a different way.

“Of course, dear, we’d love to have you. There’ll be a big group of family here tonight -- Jay is coming with the babies; Anne, Robin, and Gemma; Karen, although maybe they’re coming tomorrow, now that I think about it,” she ticked off all the names on her fingers as she talked and Kat was kicking herself for not better preparing herself (honestly, who the FUCK were all of those people? Surely they couldn’t all be Niall’s relatives, could they?), “-- so you’ll have lots of company. We’ll all take good care of her for you, Niall.” Kat blushed slightly at Maura’s words.

“Thanks, mam. I knew you would. Dad and Greg’ll be here a bit later as well. I’ve got soundcheck in a few minutes, here, think you guys can entertain yourselves while I’m doin’ that? There’s all sorts of good stuff to eat in Sarah’s kitchen.”

“Course you’d tell us to eat if we’re bored,” Maura joked with him.” Looking forward to talking with you more when you’re done, baby, so you can catch me up on what’s going on with your life. It’s been too long.” Maura cupped his cheek in her hand, looking at him with unconcealed love and pride. Kat couldn’t help but grin looking at the two of them. 

“Soundcheck shouldn’t take too long, then we’ll have a bit before the fans get here for the meet and greets. Should be plenty of time to chat.” He looked around, noting that the musical band was heading out. “Okay, I’ve got to go. See ya all soon.”

He stepped forward and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and clapped Chris on the shoulder, before he returned to Kat, pulling her in for a quick kiss on the lips. “Back in a bit,” he murmured into her ear. “You’ll be alright, yeah?”

Kat nodded at him, feeling her cheeks heating up again. If nothing else, her embarrassing, all too obvious crush on Niall certainly made all her reactions to him look completely real. Probably to him as well as anyone that happened to be watching them, but Kat pushed that unwelcome thought out of her head.

Shortly after Niall and the others that were needed for soundcheck left, more family and friends flooded the room and Kat found herself getting introduced all around. After meeting Harry’s family (was anyone, anyone at all, connected to this band not completely gorgeous?), she met Louis’ mom Jay and her fiancé Dan, who, as predicted by Maura and much to Kat’s delight, brought their infant twins, Ernest and Doris, as well as their oldest daughter, Lottie, who Kat guessed was around 16 or so. 

Within moments of meeting them, Kat had asked to hold Doris while Dan went to get something to eat. Even if she wasn’t the massive lover of babies that she truly was, Kat knew that nothing was more useful in an awkward situation like having a child in your arms to coo to and talk about if there were any lulls in the conversation. 

Not that Kat was required to contribute much to the discussion surrounding her. Although everyone was very friendly to her when they were introduced, all of the family members clearly hadn’t gotten to see each other in a while and were excitedly catching up with one another. Kat was free to bop the baby around to keep her happy and listen in on all the interesting conversations taking place around her.

She learned that Jay and Dan were getting married later in the summer and it sounded like all the families were to be invited to the celebration. Kat loved the obvious chemistry and connections between the families and it was particularly apparent between Jay and Anne, Harry’s mom. Which made total sense, as they were practically related at this point. 

By the time everyone trickled back in from sound check, Kat was holding Ernest, who she’d successfully rocked to sleep, his sweet cheek pressed to her shoulder. She hadn’t really had a chance to talk to Niall’s mom and stepdad, which she kind of felt bad about, but it wasn’t as though she’d been avoiding them or anything. There was just a lot going on.

Louis spotted her and his baby brother almost immediately upon entering the room and darted over to her. Kat shook her head at him and held a finger up to her lips so he would know Ernest was sleeping and not speak too loudly (she’d only been around Louis a couple of times but she knew that he often operated on a higher volume than most people). Louis gave the baby a quick kiss on the head before moving on to hug his mom and Dan, as well as snag a still-awake Doris for himself. 

Harry trailed soon after, giving Ernest the same treatment as his boyfriend had before greeting all the family members with hugs and kisses. When Zayn and Liam arrived, an outside observer would never know that it wasn’t their actual blood relatives present, so warm was the reception they received from their bandmates’ loved ones. They really all were one big happy family.

After Jay took the sleeping Ernest from her arms, Kat was beginning to think that Niall had gotten lost when he finally arrived with the other half of his family. Even if Kat hadn’t done her research, she would have known in an instant that Bobby was his dad and Greg was his brother, so strong was the family resemblance. Kat could feel a grin breaking across her face when she took them all in. And that was _before_ she caught sight of the child in his sister in law’s arms, who had to be the cutest kid ever (no offense to Ernest and Doris as they were still in the baby baby phase where they looked exactly like every other white baby ever born). Before she even consciously decided to do so, Kat started walking towards them.

Niall handled the introductions again. “This is Kat. Kat, this is me da, Bobby, me brother, Greg, his wife, Denise, and this little man here is Theo.”

“Oh my God! Look at all that hair! I love kids with hair, my little sisters were bald until they were three, at least,” Kat gushed, then remembered her manners. “I’m so sorry, although I’m sure you’re all used to people only caring about Theo when they first see him, he’s so stinking cute. It’s so nice to meet all of you.”

Much to her surprise, Bobby pulled her into a big hug. “It’s great to meet ya, Kat. Heard such nice things about ya.” Kat looked at Niall over his dad’s shoulder, her eyebrows raised, but he just shrugged at her, a half grin on his face, not giving her any indication of what he might have told his dad about her. She decided not to worry about it and just enjoy the warm dad hug she was receiving, which made her realize she missed her own dad more than she had thought.

Apparently Bobby was quite the hugger, as all of the members of the band, as well as pretty much anyone else that came by that he knew, all were recipients of the Bobby Horan hug. Explained why he was so good at it, he had lots of practice. 

While Bobby was busy greeting the boys, Kat shook hands with Greg, Denise, and even Theo, although he clearly had no idea what she was doing. Denise was super pretty, with long blonde hair and a great smile. She made small talk with Kat for a few moments, asking her if she’d ever been to Dublin before and how she was finding it.

While they were talking, Kat felt Greg’s eyes on her for a couple of moments longer than was strictly necessary, causing Kat to internally freak out. In some ways, Kat thought that he was actually better looking than Niall. She’d had always prefered darker haired guys (and girls, for that matter, although she also had a weakness for redheads) and Greg had that, plus the same gorgeous blue eyes that Niall did. He seemed much less aware of how attractive he was, though, as Niall was nothing if not confident. Which was stupidly attractive, damn him.

But Greg didn’t seem to have that same quiet arrogance that Niall had, not surprisingly as he wasn’t in a internationally famous boy band. He seemed to be very curious about Kat though if the way he was looking at her was any indication. Although she supposed maybe he was just interested in the fact that Niall was introducing a girl to the family as perhaps he really hadn’t done that all that much? 

“So, how long are ya stayin' with Niall?” he asked, his bright eyes peering into hers. “Ya stayin' for the whole tour, going to all the concerts?”

“I think I’m just staying through London? Not sure yet really. I’m not actually working right now, I graduated a few weeks ago so I’m kind of just hanging out this summer. I mean, I have a couple of small part time jobs, but nothing particularly pressing.”

“So this is perfect for ya, yeah?” Was he suspicious of her or was she just being paranoid? Or both perhaps? Despite her prodding, Niall had never really given her that much more info about his family so she didn’t know how close they all were to each other. Not close enough to tell about their fake relationship so she supposed not all that close but she wished she had a better sense of each of their relationships with Niall.

Kat was saved somewhat from Greg’s questioning when Maura came over, hugging everyone (including Bobby, clearly they had an amicable relationship now, not surprising as they’d divorced so long ago) and stealing Theo for herself. Once the greetings were through, she turned to Kat.

“Kat, I’m so sorry I haven’t gotten much of a chance to talk with you!” Maura said, stepping closer to her. “I need to introduce ya to Karen, Liam’s mum, as well, when we get a chance.”

“No worries, it’s a happening place back here, so many people!”

“Let me get to know you a bit, while we have some time here. Are ya still in school or are ya working?”

“I actually just graduated a couple weeks ago, with a degree in early elementary education. But the teaching market’s really tight where I live, so I’m just going to be substitute teaching next year. Hopefully that’ll turn into a full time job then,” Kat explained, hoping she didn’t sound like an unemployed degenerate whose only life goal was to sponge off the woman’s son.

“Oh a teacher, how lovely. Explains why you’re so good with kids.”

“That’s more from years and years of babysitting really. And I just like kids, always have. They’re honest and real, for better or for worse,” Kat explained, making a face at Theo while she did so, reaching out and grabbing his outstretched fist as he grinned at her. “Although this guy’s a little young to be saying much of anything at all.”

“And do you want kids yourself?” Maura asked casually, although a question about wanting children never felt casual coming from a significant other’s (albeit a fake significant other in this case) parent.

Gulp. “Oh, yeah, but not for a long time still. I’d like to be much more established in my career and experience a lot more of the world before I’d be ready for that. I’m not in any rush.”

Maura got called away at that moment and Greg leaned over. “Glad to hear we don’t have to worry about ya pokin’ holes in any condoms then,” he teased in a low voice.

A look of horror she couldn’t conceal crossed her face. “Yeah, no way. I get why’d you’d be concerned about that, with Niall being so famous, but I would never do such a thing. That’s a seriously messed up thing to do to a person, never mind the kid.”

“Was just teasin' ya, Kat, don’t ya worry yourself. Just a bit of a joke.” He nudged her playfully and she gave him a weak smile. He could say he was joking all he wanted but the way he was watching her face, like he was gauging her reaction, made her feel like there was a bit of truth to his teasing.

Kat tried not to dwell on Greg’s question, focusing instead on meeting more people and getting in more baby time. The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. She didn’t really see that much more of Niall, as they were pulled away again for meet and greets. Not that he really told her what he was doing, but thankfully there were plenty of people around who knew what was going on far more than she did. 

Shortly before they were to head out to their seats to catch the opening act, Niall pulled Kat aside for a moment from where she was chatting with Maura and Bobby, with a quick, “Need to borrow my girl here for minute, I’ll bring her right back.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked, worried that she’d done something wrong to warrant some of his undivided attention, particularly when she thought he’d want to be focusing on the upcoming show. 

“Yeah, wanted to make sure everythin' was going alright with you,” he asked. He seemed distracted, looking around the room and not really focusing on her, but it meant a lot to her that he bothered to check in on her at all.

“I’m doing good, thanks for asking. Except …” She hesitated, reluctant to even bring it up.

She now had his full attention. He lifted his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.

“I think Greg’s on to me,” she said finally.

“On to ya? What could he be on to ya about?” he asked, his voice low but angry.

Kat cringed. She hadn’t wanted to upset him but thought he should know in case he needed to deal with it. “I think he knows I’m not really your girlfriend? He kept looking at me like he knew. He seemed really suspicious of me anyway,” she explained.

“That’s just how he is, don’t worry.” He looked exhausted by the topic.

Kat hesitated, unsure if she should continue. She decided to risk it, and continued, her voice careful, “He also seemed kind of … jealous maybe? And not, like, jealous of you that you were with me but, like, the other way around? Or was I totally reading him wrong?”

Niall ran his hand over his face. “Our relationship is … complicated. We weren’t particularly close growing up -- he’s 6 years older than me, so it’s not like we really had much in common. So, yeah, now things are just … I don’t know, complicated.”

“It’s okay, we don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” Kat reassured him.

“I’d rather not, if I’m honest. But don’t ya worry about him, I’m sure ya were fine. M’ mam had nothing but great things to say about ya.”

“That’s good to hear.” They smiled at each other for a moment, then he pulled her in for a hug. She glanced over at the family and friends grouped throughout the room, knowing there were likely people there that didn’t know about her and Niall’s whole deal. “Should we … ?” 

Niall understood her unvoiced question and kissed her, cupping her face in his hands. It was a soft but deep kiss, their tongues touching briefly for the first time. Kat wasn’t sure if Niall’d planned to do that, or if he just wasn’t thinking, or if … 

Her mind spun in a million directions as the kiss continued, but she wouldn’t really ever know the whys or hows as to what Niall was doing, probably not ever, and tried to just let it go, focusing her mental energy on just returning his kiss in a believable, but restrained, manner. 

She couldn’t help but wonder though, why, now, of all times, when they weren’t being photographed, when they weren’t even in front of the public, when his family was in the same room, why he’d choose this moment to give her a more real kiss. Not that it was, like, a gross amount of tongue or anything -- it was totally acceptable -- but what was he … 

Hands still on her cheeks, Niall pulled back and looked down at her. “I swear, I can actually hear ya thinkin' every time we kiss. Is that always how ya are or is it just with me?”

Kat flushed. “Um, just with you? Although it’s not personal, it’s just the situation.” 

“Ya do realize we’re going to be doin’ this a lot in the next year? Might want to just loosen up about it.” He chucked her under the chin.

“Yeah, that’s good advice. I’ll see what I can do about that,” Kat said jokingly.

“At least think about it,” Niall teased back, laughing at his own joke. Kat playfully shoved him away from her, then headed back to join his family while he headed off to get changed and ready for the concert.

And then, then it was time to head out to the stadium. Kat found herself seated between Maura and Denise plus Theo, which she felt very happy about. Although “seated” wasn’t really the accurate term as no one looked to be actually sitting down in the entire arena. Kat noticed several groups of girls noting their arrival, although she assumed it was more Niall’s family than her they recognized. There were some of the other guys’ family and friends sitting near them as well, so they probably were a bit of a spectacle. 

Once everyone was situated, Kat turned to Denise. “I can hold him if you’d like, so you can enjoy the concert? Or is he nervous around strangers? I know at his age that whole ‘stranger danger’ thing can start kicking in,” Kat asked.

“No, he’s not shy at all. If you really don’t mind, I will have ya hold him. But let me know when you’re over it, he gets heavy after a bit,” Denise said, carefully passing him over. “And I have ear protection for him for later.”

“Hey buddy, how’s it going? What do you think about all this craziness? Just you wait until the show starts, I have a feeling it’s going to get really loud in here.” She continued to chat quietly to him, happy to see that he seemed completely comfortable in her arms. She couldn’t believe how cute he was and she could definitely see a lot of Horan in him, although he certainly had some of his mother’s features as well.

“Are ya ready for this?” Denise asked her, over the top of Theo’s head.

Kat smiled nervously back at her. She was super anxious for no real reason, or at least not any reason she’d have been able to articulate, the anticipation of the unknown finally getting the best of her. Whether she was ready for it or not, though, she was about to experience her very first One Direction concert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Under Pressure" by Queen & David Bowie


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sad about the news about Jay, my heart breaks for Louis and his family. Had this chapter all ready to go out today and waffled about whether to post it or not but figured people might want a distraction right now. 
> 
> I want to say a big THANK YOU to my beta & brit-picker, [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)! She just started beta'ing for me recently but went back and edited the entire thing, which I am so grateful for!

Huge screens lined the back of the stage, which was massive itself, with a large runway going out into the middle of the floor. The lights of the stadium went dark and the crowd went absolutely insane, like nothing Kat had ever heard before. She’d thought they’d been loud during the opening act, a band called 5 Seconds of Summer that she wasn’t familiar with but were really good, but that was nothing at all compared to the volume level for the main attraction.

A cute video began to play, the music playing along with it amping up the anticipation in the arena, the screens showing all the boys in different locations around the world. Kat was caught up in the videos, clapping along to the music, when a cheer erupted that practically shook the stadium, announcing the guys’ arrival. She recognized the beginning notes of “Midnight Memories,” and suddenly they were all there on stage and over the screams, Kat could sort of make out Harry’s voice.

She immediately found Niall, who had on a white shirt covered with a black jacket, skinny jeans, and white shoes. Harry also stood out to her, dressed in a black polka dot shirt and headband. They all looked great, like proper rock stars up there on the stage in front of their adoring fans.

Fans that were glued to their every move and every word they sang, capturing every moment with phones held aloft, recording. As the concert continued, she noticed that every time that Niall was shown on the big screens, the screams were even louder. They clearly loved their local celebrity and the feeling seemed to be mutual, as he waved and interacted with the crowd surrounding the stage.

Kat was rocking out, singing along to every song when suddenly one came on that she didn’t recognize. She asked Maura, “Is this a new song? It wasn’t on any of my CDs.” 

“I’m pretty sure it was on their last album,” Maura responded. “Maybe it was a bonus track?”

“Oh, that must be it,” Kat said, panicking about how many other songs she’d missed out on by not buying the deluxe albums. “Now I feel like a bad fan, not knowing every single song they’ve ever released!”

“I won’t tell on you, don’t worry,” Maura said with a laugh.

Despite never having heard the song before (she thought it was likely called something like “Let’s Go There” or “Why Don’t We Go There”), Kat loved it, she planned to download it immediately after the concert ended. She particularly loved Niall’s part of it, simply because of the lyrics and the fun sing along part he had with the audience. Obviously it had nothing to do with him.

It was fun to see all the songs she’d grown to love being performed live; she hadn’t yet entirely mastered the ability to be able to tell which guy was singing which lines (besides Louis, she was pretty good at picking out his voice, it was so distinctive and lovely), so it was cool to be able to better match the voice to the man. 

After they finished “Rock Me,” Niall switched his electric guitar out for an acoustic and grabbed an Irish flag that someone had thrown onto the stage and held it up as he strutted down the runway, much to the delight of the fans who screamed their approval.

“Ireland, how we feelin’?” He tucked the flag into his back pocket as he began to address the stadium. “I’ll tell ya what, four years ago, nearly to the day, me, me brother, and me cousin were stood over there in the corner and I auditioned for the X Factor. And, here we are. Croke Park, baby! Thank you so much for everythin’. Thank you so much for your support. And, uh, hope we do, we do you proud tonight.” 

Kat looked over at Niall’s mom, dad, and brother and they were all beaming with pride, Maura wiping away some happy tears. Hell, Kat felt like crying and she didn’t even really like the guy.

Niall continued, “Okay, this next one, is probably the most important song for me, first of all, ‘cause I wrote it, and, uh, it basically sums up why we’re here tonight and what this has done for us and this song is called ‘Don’t Forget Where You Belong.’” Niall headed back to the main stage as Liam began singing. 

As the concert continued, Niall kept looking around, soaking it all in. She couldn’t begin to understand what this must feel like for him, what an amazing feeling it would be to see direct evidence of just how far he had come in such a short time. He sounded amazing when he followed Liam, singing about traveling all around the world but always remembering who he was and where he came from. 

“This has been the best night of my life,” he said between songs later in the concert. “Ireland, thank you so much, you are unbelievable. If you could see what we see right now … it’s amazin’.”

Kat tried, she really did. She tried to watch the entire show, to appreciate equally all the members of the band. But her eyes inevitably keep creeping back to Niall.

She turned and spoke to Maura, “I just … you know, it was all so theoretical up to this point. I mean, obviously I knew he was in a band and not just any band but a massively successful band. But to see it like this -- to see HIM like this -- it’s just something else. He’s amazing, isn’t he?” She blushed, realizing how much she was gushing but she figured that if she were going to gush about him to someone, might as well be his mom, right? “I mean, of course you know that, but he’s just so incredibly talented.”

Maura put her arm around Kat and squeezed. “That he is. And it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around this, that all these people are here to see my little boy. I worry about him, though. For all the attention and adoration he gets from the fans and as close as he is to the other boys, I think it can be a lonely life. I’m really happy that the two of you met, I think he could use somebody normal, for lack of a better word, to have on his side, to be a sounding board.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard myself described as normal, but I’ll take it,” Kat deflected, giving Maura a hug back. She felt a momentary twinge of guilt at Maura’s words though. She didn't want his family to get overly attached to her and be upset with Niall when they eventually broke up. Kat tried to shake off the feeling though as obviously he was a 20 year old pop star, surely no one thought they'd be together forever or be getting married or anything. Plus it felt kind of arrogant to assume they even liked her all that much and just weren't being polite.

“Shush. You seem very down to earth. You’re not Catholic but no one’s perfect,” she teased.

Kat noticed as she watched that Harry and Louis rarely interacted on the stage, while Liam and Zayn seemed to be much less discrete, although likely they weren’t totally obvious to someone that didn’t know, she supposed. Kat hadn’t yet looked online to see if the fandom had any idea about what was really going on within 1D and she made a mental note to do that when she had some free time.

All too soon, the band was finishing up their encore and it was all over. Kat felt like she hadn’t breathed in an hour and a half, and that had been with her attention partially diverted by Theo and conversations with Niall’s family. 

One thing was for sure: she was really going to enjoy the going to all the One Direction concerts part of her job, if nothing else.

*

After the concert, Kat found herself hanging back when she went with Niall's family to meet up with the band. They were staying in a hotel nearby that night, according to the itinerary from Paul, as they'd be flying out bright and early the next day to head to Glasgow for the Radio 1 Big Weekend concert (whatever that was exactly) in the afternoon, only to fly back directly after for another show at Croke Park that evening. Kat was tired just thinking about it -- she couldn't imagine how the guys would handle it, as they were the ones actually doing all the work.

But that really wasn't why she was being so timid. It was strange, but seeing an actual One Direction concert made the boys’ fame seem so much more real to her. Sure, she knew without question that they were famous, that much was clear from everything surrounding them: the scads of adoring fans, the media attention, the private planes, the fancy houses and cars. 

But to see them on stage, to see just how good they were at what they did and how much their fans loved them for it, opened her eyes to the extent of just how massive they were. 

And that made her feel … that much more weird about what she was doing and her relationship to the band. She'd had little to no experience around famous people in her fairly sheltered, Midwestern life -- her closest brush with celebrity prior to meeting Niall was sometimes seeing her state's governor in the halls of the state capitol building while she was working there. And it's not like he was really all that big of a deal outside the state (or even outside the capitol, really, as likely a large portion of the population wouldn't recognize him if they ran into him at the mall or something). 

But Niall and his bandmates were legitimate celebrities, real and actual Important People, household names to so many people all around the world. And they weren't just good looking, they weren’t just some manufactured boy band: they were immensely talented and people loved them for that. 

And she was just a nobody from nowhere that happened to once be related to a corporate slimeball that was part of a widespread scheme to closet and profit off of them. 

All in all, it didn't leave her feeling very good. 

So when she was face to face with Niall and the rest of One Direction, she just stood there, not saying a thing until all the family and friends had cleared out and Niall was ushering her down a hall to their transportation to the hotel. Kat knew she only had to keep it together for a short while until she got to the safety of her private room, where she could freak out in peace.

“Why are ya bein' so quiet? Haven’t heard ya say a word the entire night, since the show. Surely my family didn’t scare ya that much?” Niall teased, seeming upbeat and happy, no doubt from the post-concert adrenaline. Kat couldn’t imagine how it would feel, seeing a stadium full of people just there to see you and to witness their reaction to everything you did.

“No, they were lovely. All of them, really nice people,” Kat replied, not answering his question. She fell silent again immediately after.

He bumped her shoulder. “So …?”

Kat just looked at him, not sure if she could explain. Of course, looking at him made her feel strange all over again.

“I feel weird around you now, okay? Like, before, I knew you were a big deal but now, like, I saw it with my own eyes and I don’t know. It just feels like you’re a different person than the person I’ve gotten used to. And I don’t know how to get my head around it.”

Now it was Niall’s turn to go mute.

The silence stretched out between them, continuing as they got outside and Basil assisted them into another dark windowed SUV that already contained several passengers, although Kat was too in her head to really notice just who they were. 

Although they went into the hotel through a back entrance, Niall waited for Kat to get out and put his arm around her as they walked until they were safely in the elevator. He talked with the guys about the concert, joking about different signs they’d seen and giving each other shit about mistakes they’d made. 

Kat trailed them down the hallway once they were on their floor and they all said goodnight to her when she stopped at her door to unlock it. Niall paused, seeming like he wanted to say something, before he sighed and started to walk away.

Before he could get too far, Kat called out softly, “Hey Niall?”

“Yeah?” he said, turning around. 

“Great job tonight. You guys were really amazing.”

A sincere smile stretched his face. “Thanks. See ya in the mornin’, bright and early.”

She went in her room, feeling marginally better about everything.

*

Kat gave herself one last look in the mirror the next morning, called it good enough, and headed out to the hallway to wait for Niall, not wanting to keep him or anyone else waiting to leave for the airport. 

The hall was quiet, the only other people standing down near the elevator, talking to each other quietly. Just before she was going to slide down the wall to sit and wait, Kat realized that one of the two men was Basil and she decided impulsively to seize the moment and ask him a question while she had the chance.

Being that it was so spur of the moment, however, meant that she was massively unprepared for what she needed to talk to him about. “Hi, um, Basil?”

“Yes?”

“Can I, uh, talk to you for a minute?” she asked, her voice nervous.

“Sure, just a second, Paddy,” he said to the man he’d been talking to, walking with Kat a bit down the hallway so they had a bit of privacy.

“Um, I feel stupid asking you this but do you think you could give me a heads up about what’s going on during the day? I don’t mean, like, a schedule of everything the band will be doing -- Niall already gave me the itinerary from Paul -- but just sort of a vague outline of what other stuff is going on throughout the day and night -- I can probably figure out from there if I’m supposed to go along. I never know what’s going on and it kind of sucks.” She felt her face heating up, per usual.

Basil looked completely uncomfortable as well. “D’ya suppose that maybe Niall would be a better person to ask about this?” he asked gently.

“Um, yeah? Uh, I did ask him and he kind of brushed me off?” She paused, the silence between them tense as Basil struggled to figure out a proper response. “You know what? I’m sorry for bringing it up, I’ll talk to my contact at Modest!, I’m sure she can help. Sorry again for bringing you into it,” Kat said, feeling like a complete fool. She could see the pity in Basil’s eyes, so she just gave him a quick “bye,” then rushed off. She plopped herself onto the floor by her door, pretending once again to be engrossed in her phone. 

After Basil, Paddy, and some of the other security guys beat on a few of the doors, the groggy members of One Direction and their musical band began making their appearances, Niall giving her a brief nod when he saw her.

And then they were off, on to the next country and concert.

*

Kat found herself situated between a sleepy Louis and an even sleepier Zayn in the van on the way to the venue. While they napped, she looked out the windows at her first views of Scotland, hardly believing she was in yet again a new-to-her country. 

She grabbed her phone out of her purse, opening up the Twitter app and began typing. 

_**Been in more different countries in these last 2 days than I have my entire life previously. Wild! ( & yes, typical uncultured American)**_

She hit the tweet button, not bothering to check with Marnie as it wasn't directly involving Niall. Kat figured, though, that Marnie would appreciate it as it would clue fans into the fact that she was clearly traveling with Niall to each of his different shows. 

Her "work" done for the moment, Kat settled back to enjoy the fairly brief ride to the festival location.

Once they’d all gotten out of the vehicle and greeted by event staff, Liam had been given a video camera by BBC employees and Kat made sure she wasn’t ever in the path of it, not wanting to be filmed if she could help it. But there seemed to video cameras everywhere, so she doubted she’d be able to stay out the footage entirely. 

As they made their way towards the trailers that were doubling as dressing rooms for the bands, Kat and Niall hand in hand, they were joined by a tall, slender man with impressively poofed up brown hair. He was clearly known and liked by all the guys, as there were hugs and laughs all around, Niall letting her go so he could get in on the action. Kat noticed that the man and Harry seemed particularly close as they slung their arms around each other, Harry whispering something in his ear that made him loudly guffaw.

When they'd reached their destination, Niall grabbed her hand once again, pulling her over to do the introductions.

“Kat, this is Nick Grimshaw. He does the Radio 1 morning show. Grimmy, this is Kat Hamilton,” Niall said, noticeably (and no doubt deliberately) not introducing Kat as his girlfriend. 

Kat shook his outstretched hand. “Ah, so you’re here in a professional capacity.” In her head she thought, _just like I am_.

“I quite like the sound of that, makes me sound very important. And you’re correct, I’m being paid to be here. I’m a big fan of the boys as well, of course.”

“Of course,” Kat said, smiling back at him. He seemed very fun and witty and she liked him already. 

“You can come hang out with me, if you’d like, whilst the lads are performing. I can probably even get you some alcohol, if that’s something that interests you,” Nick offered.

“Yes, please, to both of those,” Kat said, delighted to have someone fun to hang out with during the show. Not that it hadn’t been fun to hang out the night before with Niall’s family, because it had, there was just something quite different about having drinks and hanging out with someone fun your own age-ish, as Kat placed Nick’s age as likely five years or so older than her.

Nick and Kat found a great spot, people constantly stopping by to have a quick chat with Nick as they stood there. Nick introduced her to a few of the people, whispering delightfully gossipy little tidbits about each in her ear as the person in question would walk away, endearing himself to her immensely. The boys eventually came out on stage to the expected thunderous applause but opened this time with “What Makes You Beautiful,” much to the delight of the crowd. Given that it was a festival-like setting, Kat figured it would be a much abbreviated setlist. 

Again, Kat tried not to be an obvious fangirl as she watched them but she couldn’t seem to restrain herself.

Her enthusiasm clearly showed. “This can’t be your first time hearing them, can it?” Nick asked, smiling at her expression. 

“Not exactly? I mean, technically yesterday was the first time I’ve seen them. But I felt like I didn’t really get to watch the show as much as I wanted to, there were all sorts of family and stuff to meet so I was pretty occupied. I really like all their music though, so I’m definitely a fan.”

“Oh honey, prepare yourself. You’ll be flinging your knickers on the stage within two songs, I guarantee it. Mind you don’t accidentally miss and hit an unsuspecting 12 year old though, they kind of frown on that sort of thing.”

“I’ll try to restrain myself. Plus who says I’m even wearing underwear?”

“Naughty naughty, I like it. I was right about you, you’re a good egg. I hope they keep you.”

“Not bloody likely,” Kat said in a ridiculous voice. 

“Who said you could use bloody, you damn thieving American? Also, if that was your best attempt at a British accent, I’d keep practicing,” Nick said dryly.

“It’s from _Seinfeld_ , you knobhead,” Kat replied, nudging him with her shoulder.

“Oh and now with the knobhead? And are you even old enough to know _Seinfeld_?” Without waiting for her answer, he continued, waggling his finger at her, “Listen, young lady, I don’t know who you think you’re dealing with but I’m a man of much importance around these parts and you should be treating me with a great deal more respect.”

“I like you, why couldn’t you have been my fake boyfriend?” Kat asked, then slapped her hand over her mouth in shock. “Fuck, I mean, I was just joking --”

“Save it, sister. Luckily for you, I’ve been around the boys and their management long enough to know a stunt when I see one. Your secret’s safe with me, don’t you worry.”

“I can’t believe I just did that. Jesus, it’s like day one and I’m already blowing this.” Covering her eyes with her hand, she bent over and sat her beer down on the ground beside them. “Clearly, I’m not allowed to drink ever again.”

Nick put his arm around her. “Well, let this be a lesson to you -- don’t let your guard down too much, no matter how much you like a person. I’m flattered that you feel comfortable enough around me to be honest but it’s a bad habit to get into in this business, trusting people too soon. As for your question, I would be an ideal fake boyfriend for you if I was an international pop star, as long as you don’t mind that I’m not exactly straight.”

“I’m not entirely straight myself so I think we’d get along just fine,” Kat joked in return, figuring there was little risk at this point in giving the man even more dirt on her. Plus it was hardly a secret or anything.

“Get right outta town.” Nick’s face was a comic mask of shock.

“Oh, I’m out, my friend, I’m out.” She couldn’t resist a set up that perfect, as obvious as it may have been.

“Well, I never. Do you even like boys at all or is this whole thing a lie in more ways than one?” he asked.

“I do, I’m just equal opportunity.”

“Very interesting. Very modern. Have to say, I can’t believe the lad’s management went for it, truthfully.”

“Yeah, they had me investigated and everything, guess they don’t care?” Kat hadn’t really thought about it but it did seem sort of strange that they were okay with her being bisexual, particularly in light of the fact that they were so desperate to cover up the fact that some (well, most) of the members of the band weren’t straight themselves. But she wasn’t going to waste any brain power focusing on it now that she HAD thought about it. Not when she was so busy mentally kicking herself over her complete and utter failure to keep her damn mouth shut.

“Shocking.”

A few more songs in and Nick had convinced Kat to give her beer another chance, although he jokingly teased her about giving him her ATM PIN number or if she had any U.S. state secrets she wanted to discuss with him. For all that she was an incredible bonehead for revealing what she had, she knew just how lucky she was that she had done it with someone that was clearly so close to the boys. It easily could have been a disaster.

"So tell me, Kat, since you're clearly such an open book and willing to tell me anything," he said teasingly, "are you and Nialler shagging?"

"Oh God no, no no no," Kat laughingly replied. "Why would you even ask that, you know it’s not real?"

"Well, this is a bit different from the typical stunt situation they boys are involved in, as Niall is, as far as I know, both single and interested in women. And not hard on the eyes, I'm sure you'll agree."

Kat rolled her eyes and tried not to blush. "Yeah, not happening." For her own ego's sake, she didn't want to clarify that Niall had absolutely no interest in her at all, not as a person and certainly not as someone he might want to sleep with. 

“Hm,” was all she got in reply from Nick as he eyed her speculatively. 

After the concert, Nick escorted Kat backstage and brought her to Niall and the rest of the boys. 

After congratulating them all on a well done show, Nick turned to Niall, with his arm around Kat. “I like her, Nialler, she’s sassy. They finally found a live one. Bet you two get on like a house on fire.”

Niall and Kat exchanged a look, both in agreement on something for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "Rock Me" by One Direction


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another massive thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)! You're an absolute treasure!

Another night, another bustling backstage area at a One Direction concert for Kat.

She felt much better this time, somewhat knowing her surroundings as well as a few more people. It sucked that they’d be constantly at different venues so she’d always be operating on new territory, although she supposed at least the main players would stay the same. She was introduced to a few new people this time, including some of Niall’s buddies from Mullingar and some more of the crew. She also got a brief introduction to Sophia, so obviously Liam’s girlfriend was back on the scene, if she’d ever truly left. Kat made a mental note to remember to ask Niall about her next time he was forced to be nice to her. Although that might be a while, as she imagined that he’d be so busy with the tour that they wouldn’t have to go on many dates any more.

A few hours before the show, Niall walked her over to a laughing group of guys that looked vaguely familiar, but Niall got called away before he could introduce them. No big deal, she thought as she introduced herself, and as they all gave her their names (Luke, Calum, Ashton, and Michael, not that she’d be able to remember them), she was mentally patting herself on the back, thinking she was getting quite good at this whole thing.

“How do you guys know Niall?” she asked, guessing they could be more friends from home, or perhaps crew members of some sort, although their accents didn’t sound quite right when they’d each given her their names. But she was shit at accents so she really had no clue.

The four guys laughed and exchanged a look. Ashton replied, “We’re in a band, 5 Seconds of Summer, and both Niall and Louis were a big part of why we got discovered. We’re opening for them?”

Kat felt like an absolute idiot. Of course. They were in the band she’d seen the previous evening. They were famous. Of course they were. 

Luke must have been able to read the embarrassment all over her face. “It’s totally cool that you didn’t recognize us -- we’re not really that big in the States yet so there’s no reason for you to know who we are or anything. No worries at all, Kat.”

“Thank you for saying that but I still feel like an ass. You guys were great last night, I guess I just missed your names.” She shook her head. “I’m going to need to get better at this. At the very least, I should have known you guys were famous, no one’s that handsome in real life.”

They all laughed at that, Calum shouting out to Niall, who was heading back their direction. “Oi, Nialler, your girl thinks we’re hot!”

Kat felt her face get hot at the whole “your girl” bit more than the fact that she was getting called out for thinking they were attractive -- they _were_ attractive, it really wasn’t debatable so she wasn’t embarrassed about that. But Niall just laughed, agreeing with her as he put his arm around her shoulders, “She’s clearly got good taste. You guys _are_ hot.”

“Isn’t it a bit arrogant, mate, saying she’s got good taste? Since she chose you and all,” Ashton teased, bumping shoulders with Niall. 

Not particularly wanting to hear what he was going to say, Kat blurted out before Niall had a chance to speak, “Have you guys even _met_ Niall? Arrogance is one of his defining characteristics.” 

Everyone broke out into uproarious laughter. Everyone but Niall. An extremely fake grin (that looked much more like a grimace to Kat) on his face, he put his arm further around her shoulder, pulling her towards him in a playful headlock, although it didn’t feel entirely friendly to Kat. 

He muttered into her ear once they were close, “Thanks for that, babe,” his voice sarcastic, before smacking a kiss on the side of her head. Before he could say anything else to her, she ducked out of his grasp, making her excuses to the other guys as she darted off to chat to Niall’s family. Always good to leave on a high note, a la George Costanza. 

Later, Kat had Theo in her arms again and all was right with the world. She was planning on the night going pretty similar to the one before until Gemma, with Lottie and Sophia by her side, came over and tugged on Kat’s arm. “You’re hanging with us tonight. Hand off the baby, it’s a girls night.”

“Oookay,” Kat said, not sure what to think about this new development. She hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to either Gemma or Lottie the day before although they both seemed like fun. And she supposed it made sense to get to know Sophia, her fellow stunt girlfriend, as they’d likely be spending a fair amount of time together the next year. She really shouldn’t let the fact that she was ridiculously beautiful affect her opinion of her. 

Instead of having actual seats, the four of them stood right beside the catwalk, in the corralled off safe area where security stood, which was a much better way to view the show. Kat had a blast dancing and singing with Gemma and Lottie, half in love with the former and wanting to adopt the latter, and although they hadn’t really had a chance to talk, Sophia had seemed nice enough as well. All of the members of the band interacted with them at different points in the concert, which was a completely surreal feeling, one she knew that the majority of people in the venue would kill to have. She even got a special smile and nod from Dan, which made her way happier than it probably should.

With the distraction of being surrounded by Niall’s family the previous night, Kat hadn’t really focused on a lot of the lyrics to the songs and noted just how sexual a lot of them were (which, thank God she hadn’t thought about that when she was sat by his mom, that was the last thing she would have needed, listening to Niall sing about sex while inches away from the guy’s mother who had to think that they were actually sleeping together. Fake or not, that would have been a major yikes). Particlarly, the bit where Niall all but groped himself during his verse in “Better Than Words,” which just happened to happen right in front of where she and the girls were standing, causing the entire stadium to erupt in screams. Screams that Kat herself was echoing in her mind. Holy shit, that was sexy.

Immediately after singing the last “crazy” in his section of the song, Niall winked down at Kat, pointing at her briefly, and despite everything, despite how he treated her in private and that she knew it was all fake, she couldn’t help the little butterflies that let loose in her stomach and she could feel the flush rising in her cheeks. She figured if nothing else, that it would look good to anyone paying close attention to her but it was damned embarrassing to be betrayed by her body like that. How dare it, honestly -- clearly her brain and the rest of her worthless self needed to have a serious conversation about how they all collectively felt about Mr. Niall J. Horan before things got any more out of hand. 

Kat covered her shame and hot face by taking a big drink of the beer that Gemma and her had both gotten, desperately trying to pretend that nothing was amiss. She saw Gemma flash her a sly, knowing look though and figured that at least one person was well aware of her pathetic crush. Kat sensed that Gemma was the type of person you could totally trust with a secret though, so she just shrugged over at her, somewhat acknowledging what was happening with a “what can you do?” expression on her face. 

As they headed backstage following the show, Gemma pulled her in closer. “Are you coming out with us tonight after the show?”

"Um, I'm not sure? This is the first I'm hearing about it. And who is 'us' precisely?"

"Everyone,” Gemma clarified unhelpfully. “And you're coming unless there's some reason you can't?"

 _Because Niall probably doesn't want me there?_ Kat thought but didn't say. Although she was sure Marnie would expect her to be there as it sounded like an event that the band member's girlfriends would be expected by the public to be at, especially as everyone knew she was in Dublin and going to the concerts.

"No, I'm in. Sounds like fun." And it did, in a way. After the exhausting day she'd had, she could use a night to cut loose a bit. Although she’d still be on the clock and no doubt surrounded by people that she and Niall would have to fake it in front of but at least there’d be alcohol. And, dare she hope, maybe even some dancing?

When Kat finished up getting ready that night after the concert, she decided to wait in the hall like she had that morning so she’d be ready to go. Despite her earlier conversation with Basil, she hadn’t contacted Marnie or said anything to Niall about the whole her not having any clue what was going on thing. She didn’t think there was much more that Marnie could do and she wasn’t feeling particularly up for the reaction she’d no doubt get from Niall if she asked him. 

The hall was empty when she left her room and she decided she’d just lean against her door rather than sit, not wanting to wrinkle the cute dress she was wearing. Before she could get her phone out, a door two down from her’s opened and Niall stepped out, engrossed in whatever he was typing on his own iPhone.

He looked amazing. His hair was sticking up, perfectly styled, and his biceps… Jesus, his biceps. He was wearing a short sleeved button down shirt, with the sleeves slightly rolled up, that showed them off to perfection. She allowed herself a moment to ogle him, her eyes roving down his body somewhat greedily, his attention entirely elsewhere so there was little chance she’d get caught. Somehow despite his built upper body, she again noted that he had the skinniest chicken legs ever (oddly even more obvious in skinny jeans than when she’d seen them in shorts) which should totally be a turnoff but somehow wasn’t. 

Kat shook herself mentally. There was no good that would come from her thinking this way about him. No good at all.

Before Niall noticed her standing there, practically drooling over him, another door further down the hall opened, drawing his attention. Within 15 minutes, the hall was filled with people ready to go to the afterparty.

Shortly after they arrived at the club that the guys had rented out for the occasion, Niall brought her a beer and promptly disappeared, hanging out with all his friends and family that were there. He checked in periodically, decently playing the part of the doting boyfriend, although they didn’t really talk or touch overmuch. 

He came back around again with a fresh beer for her, frowning when he saw that she already had a ¾ full one. “Did you go get your own? I would have gotten you one, I don’t mind.”

“No, this is still my same one. I had a couple of beers with Nick earlier today, then a couple more with Gemma at the show so I’m just trying to take it easy. I don’t want to feel like ass tomorrow.” Niall seemed unimpressed but didn’t say anything more, handing off the beer he’d gotten for her to someone else. He didn’t immediately escape the area though, staying and talking to the group of people she was hanging out with. 

A tray full of shots appeared and despite a lot of teasing thrown her way, Kat wouldn’t take one. That was the last thing she needed, she could barely trust herself sober around him, she had no idea what she would do if her inhibitions were lowered enough.

“Can't just let your hair down and get drunk with us, can ya?” Niall said into her ear, his tone scathing.

Since she couldn't give him the real reason, that she was afraid of her drunk self acting on her feelings towards him, she gave him another plausible excuse.

“Niall, I'm working, don't you understand that?” she explained, trying to be patient with him despite her frustration. “You wouldn't get drunk and go out on stage so don't ask me to do the equivalent, okay?”

“I’m sorry, I forgot for a moment what a chore this all was for ya.”

“I didn’t mean it like --” she started, but he was gone before she could finish.

*

Her head was clear and her stomach settled when she woke up the next day, but she still felt like crap, remembering how the night had went with Niall. There hadn’t been a good moment for her to clarify anything with him and he was icy to her the entire evening. As they’d left the club, Kat had thought how strange it was holding hands with someone that very obviously doesn’t even want to be around you. 

Kat tried not to care too much, but it had been such a long day with flying between two countries, two concerts, meeting countless new people, an afterparty that went until 3, and on and on, that she was so exhausted, both mentally and physically, that she’d ended up crying herself to sleep even though she knew it was pointless. She just felt so alone.

Deciding to try to make the most of her situation, Kat decided that she’d try to actually get out and see a little of Dublin while she had a chance that day. She figured that the band would be laying low and everyone else would have friends and family to hang out with (which she tried not to dwell on too much, lest she start feeling sorry for herself again), so why not strike out on her own? They’d be leaving that night directly after the concert, heading back to London, so this would be her only chance to do a bit of exploring.

She did a bit of research on her laptop to see where might be a good place to learn a bit about the city and culture, and maybe get in a bit of shopping as well -- she had sisters that would be expecting trinkets from all the cool places she was going plus she never turned down an opportunity to shop when she had the chance. 

After looking at a number of options, she decided to go first to Trinity College (they apparently had this beautiful library that Kat felt like she had to see) and then to St. Stephen’s Green. If she had time, she could do some shopping on Grafton Street as well. 

Four hours later, Kat had a vastly different attitude, reaffirming that getting out on her own had absolutely been the best thing she could have done for herself. She’d wandered around by herself, taking in all the sites and enjoying herself immensely. Dublin was a beautiful, historic city and she was so glad that she’d gotten at least a little chance to appreciate what it had to offer.

As she had an hour or so left before she thought she needed to head back to the hotel, she decided to see if she could find any cute clothing stores that they didn’t have back home.

Strolling the streets, she found what looked like the perfect spot, the gorgeous clothes in the window beckoning her in. After being greeted by the young employee at the checkout counter, she perused the racks, finding several things she wanted to try on. Before she finished looking through everything, though, she could feel a prickling sensation alerting her to the fact that someone was staring at her. Trying to discretely figure out who it was, Kat reached up to brush her hair out of her face, turning slightly as she did so. As she did, she caught two girls, slightly younger than she was, looking over at her and giggling, fiddling around with their phones. When they realized that Kat had noticed them, they quickly bustled out of the store, whispering the entire time.

Although Kat was relieved they had left, it was short lived as she noticed them continuing to loiter around outside of the store, texting on their phones and chatting animatedly to each other while peering into the store occasionally. Kat let out a quiet sigh, worried that they knew who she was and were planning on talking to her once she left. She made eye contact with the saleswoman who gave her a sympathetic smile, cluing Kat into the fact that she both knew who she was and saw what was happening.

It wasn’t that Kat was unwilling to talk to any of Niall’s fans or anything; she was just worried about the reaction she would get from them, concerned that they might hate her for stealing their favorite band member. Plus, she really wasn’t up for getting pressed for details about their relationship as she wasn’t sure exactly how much she was supposed to reveal to outsiders.

Gearing up for the exchange, Kat put back all but one of the clothing items she’d grabbed, keeping the one top that she liked the most and that she was fairly certain would fit and took it up to the saleswoman. Kat grabbed a gray newsboy cap and threw it on top of the shirt. “I’ll take this too.” It was cute and she thought it might help her be little less recognizable, should she come across any more fans on the way back to the hotel. Realizing what she wanted it for, the salesgirl cut the tag off and handed it back to her.

Kat pulled it on, smoothing out her hair that stuck out underneath it. “Look okay?” she asked.

“Perfect,” the girl said, then came around the counter, motioning for Kat to follow her. “Here, you can go out the back.”

“Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.”

Once out in the streets of Dublin again, Kat ducked into the first pub she passed, hoping that no one saw her go in. She adjusted her hat, pulling it a bit lower on her forehead to make her less noticeable to anyone in the bar that might recognize her. Walking up to the bar, she pulled out a stool and made herself comfortable. Past a cursory glance when she’d came in, not a person in the place was looking at her.

“I’ll just have a beer, whatever you recommend that you have on tap,” she said to the bartender that came over to her, an older gentleman who she felt confident would have no idea who she was. 

“Of course.”

The beer he placed in front of her was darker than what she’d have selected herself (while she liked Guinness, she was otherwise a fairly light beer drinker) but when she took a cautious sip, she found that it was delicious. She happily settled into her chair, pulling off her jacket and hat and setting her purse onto the empty chair next to her. Although it was early afternoon, the place was buzzing with activity, Irish music cheerfully blaring from the pub’s sound system.

Kat forced herself not to take out her phone or anything else she could hide behind and instead sipped her beer in cheerful solitude. The place was bustling so the people watching was good, thankfully. 

Quicker than she would have liked, she reached the bottom of her glass and she knew that she should head back to get ready for the concert. She leaned forward to get the bartender’s attention, grabbing her wallet out of her purse as he came over. 

“Could I get my tab, please? And the beer was excellent, thank you so much.”

“No charge, m’dear.”

“What? No, I need to pay you.”

He put his hand over hers on the bartop, his eyes twinkling kindly at her. “Niall’s girl’s money is no good here.”

Kat was shocked into silence. She couldn’t believe this grizzled old man even knew who Niall Horan was, let alone who he was dating at the moment. The articles about the two of them hadn’t even been out a week so he had to be following Niall pretty closely in the media to even know they were together.

She shook herself, remembering her manners. “That’s so sweet of you, thank you so much.”

“Would a picture put you out overmuch?” he asked.

“Oh my gosh, no, that’s the least I could do!” At her agreement, he pulled out his iPhone (of course he had a smartphone, Kat had clearly severely underestimated the man), handing it off to another bartender as he came around the bar to stand next to her for the photo. She had him take one on her phone as well. After the pictures, she impulsively gave him a hug, feeling very warmly towards him, more than perhaps was warranted by the free alcohol. She just so appreciated someone being kind to her at that moment, when she really needed it.

“Do you have a cab company you use? I need to get back for the show,” Kat said, shrugging back into her jacket.

“Course, I’ll call them up right now. Anything for you.” 

*

Basil was waiting in the hall for her when she got off the elevator, making her feel like an errant child. He heaved out a sigh of relief when he saw her. “There you are, you need to get ready as quickly as possible, we need to leave for the stadium in 15 minutes.” He looked at his watch. “Or less, if you can.”

“Sorry, was just doing a tiny bit of explor --” she started to explain, only to be cut off by a door being pulled open down the hall and Niall stalking out.

“Where the hell have you been?” he barked. Basil, not being an idiot, retreated to what must have been his own room rather than witness their disagreement.

Kat was still happily buzzing from her pleasant afternoon in the pub, she wasn’t about to let a pissy Niall ruin her good mood. She tried for levity, “You’re like a national treasure here, do you realize that? You got me a free beer this afternoon, so thanks for that.”

“What are you on about?” 

“I wanted to see a little bit of the city, so I --” she began.

“Nevermind, you need to get ready, we’re the last ones that’ll be getting to Croker, you’ve made us late.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her room.

Even though he wasn’t holding her tightly or hurting her in anyway, Kat chafed at his treatment of her, shaking her arm free of his grip. “Sheesh, don’t ask me questions if you don’t want to actually hear the answers. That’s just common courtesy. And calm down, it’ll take me two shakes to change, I’ll be ready before you know it. Maybe if you, I don’t know, actually told me when I needed to be places, I could do a little better about this sort of stuff.”

Niall said nothing.

She unlocked her room and pushed the door open, muttering “asshole” as she walked through the doorway.

“I heard that!” she heard Niall exclaim behind her, right before her door slammed shut.

 _When do I get to go home for a break?_ she texted Marnie as she flopped onto the bed, trying not to cry. She hoped it was soon, she really couldn’t take much more without getting away for a bit. She needed to be around people that liked her, she needed her friends and family. 

__

> _Good timing! Just this morning, I booked you for a flight home on June 10th. You should be able to be home until some time in July, it’s not entirely sorted when yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do. Great job with everything so far!_

So she just needed to hold on for two more weeks, she could do that. It seemed like a lifetime away but having an end date, even though it was only for a temporary reprieve, gave her something to focus on and made her feel so much better. Now she just had to get through the next 15ish days … 

*

Later, at the venue, Niall approached her where she stood chatting with Gemma. Kat didn’t want to be outright rude to him while around other people, so she turned towards him, trying to keep her face composed. He hesitated and she raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to tell her whatever he came to talk about.

He eventually spit it out. “Hey, I’ve got to go see this little girl, would you want to come with? You don’t have to but figured it would look good if you did, as the family’d likely include that you were there in their posts about it.”

Kat hesitated, not really wanting to spend anymore time with him than was strictly necessary at that point. But she loved kids so she was conflicted. Plus, he was right, it would likely look good. She was on the verge of agreeing when Niall continued.

“It’s cool, you don’t need to go, Marnie didn’t say a word about it. It’s this six year old girl that has this rare type of kidney cancer? Some kind of make a wish type organization arranged for her to be at the concert tonight and I wanted to surprise her. You see, --”

Kat placed her arm on Niall’s arm, interrupting him. “Of course I’ll go. Do we need to leave now?”

“Yeah, we should, so I’ll be back in time for meet and greets.”

“Cool. Lead on.”

*

After they’d left the luxury suite where the little girl and her family would be watching the show in style, Kat drew in a shuddery breath and paused for a moment, looking up and trying not to cry.

“You okay?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, she was such a sweetheart and I’m a total softy about sick kids.” After a momentary pause where she considered how much to tell him, she continued. “My baby sister, Gabby, was diagnosed with cancer when she was five. Thankfully they caught it early and it was a type that responded to treatment and you wouldn’t even know she’d ever been sick now.”

They walked quietly for a moment. Kat cleared her throat. “Uh, I’m really sorry about that whole ‘asshole’ thing earlier.”

Niall heaved out a sigh. “Nah, don’t be. I was bein’ an asshole. So I’m sorry about that. And I’m sorry about your sister, but it’s good to hear she’s okay now. Don’t think that little girl’s going to be so lucky.”

His words caused the dam that had been holding Kat’s emotions in check to break and she began crying in earnest, tears rolling down her face. As he too was lost in his own thoughts, it took a moment for Niall to notice. 

When he did, he muttered, “oh fuck,” and stopped, pulling her into his arms after a pause in which he was clearly trying to figure out what exactly to do with her. He patted her back awkwardly, although he eventually got the hang of it and just ran his hand in circles on her back until she got herself back in control.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry about that.” She dabbed at the wet spot she’d left on his shoulder. “This should dry out okay, I don’t think I left any makeup behind. Oh shit, my makeup, I bet I look like a total nightmare and I didn’t bring anything with to fix it with. Shit.”

“The shirt’s fine, ‘m not wearing it for the show or anythin’ so it doesn’t matter. And you look, uh, alright.” 

“‘Uh, alright’ isn’t really the look I was going for, but thanks,” she joked sarcastically, its effect diminished however by the fact that her voice was still teary. She patted uselessly at her face. “Guess I’m hiding backstage tonight, don’t want any pictures of me getting out where it’s obvious I’ve been crying my eyes out. Will spark all sorts of break up rumours, I’m sure.”

“Lou can fix ya up, no problem.”

“I didn’t realize that Louis was good with makeup, but that’s nice to know,” she teased, figuring he was kidding.

“Not that Lou, Lou Teasdale, our actual hair and makeup person. You guys haven’t met?”

“Oh, that makes more sense. And no, I haven’t met her but I’m guessing she’s the cute girl with the lavender-ish hair? If you don’t think she’d mind, that’d be awesome.”

“I’ll ask to be sure, but I’d reckon she’d be up for it. Probably enjoy gettin’ to do actual makeup for once, rather than just making sure the lot of us aren’t too shiny.” 

“Cool.” They started walking again, Kat continuing to wipe her knuckle under her eyes, fruitlessly trying to do damage control with her eye makeup. “You were so great with that little girl, Niall, you really made her night.” _Really made her life_ , she tried not to think as she didn’t want to start sobbing again.

He shrugged but couldn’t contain his smile. “I like kids. And I always just try to treat sick kids like normal ‘uns, know they get babied so much that they’re usually fed up with it.”

“That’s totally true. And good on you for recognizing it.” She looked at him appraisingly. “You’re alright, Niall Horan.”

“Thanks. Careful with the compliments, though, don’t want me gettin' any more full of meself.” He smirked at her. 

She just rolled her eyes in response, charmed despite herself. Yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "Tourist" by Athlete


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible trigger warning for some homophobic language. Not by any of the main characters and not condoned by them either but it's there.
> 
> Thank you as always to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!

After Dublin and the late night flight back to London following the final show there, the band had two days off before they had another concert, for which Kat was incredibly thankful. 

Not that their days off were really days off like normal people enjoyed. The day after the final Dublin show, Niall had a charity football game where most of the 1D boys played for him and he wore the cutest track suit with his initials on it to coach (not that she told him that. Even if they were friends, she didn’t think “cute” was the look he was going for). Kat got her own version of the jacket, sans initials, but with “Team Niall” on the back but she doubted she looked half as adorable. Gemma and a couple of the guys from 5 Seconds of Summer were there for Kat to hang out with, so even though she didn’t have the foggiest ideas of the rules of the game, she’d enjoyed herself. 

Despite the fact that she’d had fun, Kat was really looking forward to the day after the game, as there truly was nothing on the schedule for her to do. A part of her wanted to explore London a bit, but mostly she wanted to hide out from the public eye. She’d felt even more exposed at the soccer match as it had been in the daylight so she could plainly see all the people staring at her. She’d caught a number of death glares when Niall had given her a brief kiss after the game and, while she totally understood it, it didn’t do much for her mental well being. 

Kat revelled in her lazy day, not changing out of elastic waisted pants the entire day -- pajama pants for half the day, then yoga pants for the rest. She watched a bit of tv with Niall in the living room, which, while they didn’t talk much, was companionable enough, then, when she’d gotten more than her fill of sports, moved into her room to binge watch crap movies on her laptop. 

Kat heard a knock on her door. “Come in!”

“I’m gonna do the washin’, ya have anything ya want me to throw in?” He had a laundry basket perched on his hip, looking adorably domestic.

“You don’t have to do my laundry,” Kat said, appalled.

“‘M not doin’ your laundry, I’m washin’ me own clothes and have some extra space. Ya can fold your own stuff, alright?”

Kat quickly grabbed her dirty stuff out of her laundry bag, thankful that she’d separated out her bras and undies into a delicates bag already so she didn’t accidentally give him any of those. There was no way in hell she was having him wash her underwear, she’d go commando before that ever happened. 

She had a brief moment of panic when Niall had knocked on her door again later, dressed and ready to head out, where she worried she’d missed the memo regarding a date or event they were supposed to be going to, but he just let he know he was going out with a couple of friends and that he’d be back late. Kat tried not to let on how excited she was to have an evening truly to herself (if for no other reason than she could safely wash her undergarments) when she told him to have fun, but judging by his smirk, he picked up on it just the same.

Getting ready to leave for the next concert location the following day, Kat got a text from Becca.

> _Your man out with another woman?_
> 
> **Huh?**
> 
> _Check this out: Niall Horan and Selena Gomez Spotted at Katy Perry Concert_

Kat clicked on the link included in Becca’s text, reading about how Niall had gone to the Katy Perry concert and, apparently, shared a luxury box with Selena Gomez. Which sounded like a pretty great night, honestly.

> **Clearly I have no idea what’s going on. I didn’t even know he was going to a concert. We were together for hours yesterday and he didn’t say a word about it. We’re super tight, in case you can’t tell.**
> 
> _I’d get that shit in line, if I were you. It’s one thing to be a fake girlfriend, quite another to be a fake doormat._
> 
> **Good point.**

On the way to the airport, sitting in the back of the hired car that had picked them up, Kat faux casually asked Niall, “Did you have a good time at the concert last night?”

“Yeah, it was good. Katy always puts on an amazin’ show.” He was texting on his phone, not really looking at her. 

“How’s Selena?” she asked with a just a touch of snark in her tone.

That got his attention. “You’ve gotta be shittin’ me, you aren’t seriously givin’ me the jealous girlfriend bit, are ya? In case ya didn’t know, we’re not actually datin’.” He kept his voice low, not wanting to speak openly in front of the driver.

“Oh, I’m well aware. As if I’d put up with your shit if we were really together. Regardless of that, I’d appreciate --”

Niall cut her off. “What do ya mean, my shit? Besides this, and the name business, I ‘spose, what have I done that’s so bad?”

“Niall, you only pay attention to me if you’re forced and even then, there’s sometimes an undercurrent of loathing. Not really the basis for a solid relationship. I mean, I have self esteem issues as much as the next person but I’d never willingly choose to spend so much time with someone that hates my very presence.”

“I don’t hate your presence.”

Kat gave him a look.

“Well, maybe I do. But it’s not personal.”

“Oh, well if it’s not personal then I suppose I’m fine with it,” she said with a sniff.

“You’re a smart arse, aren’t ya?”

“Please stop with the flattery, Mr. Horan, I really can’t take much more.”

He ignored that. “I already got an earful from Marnie about last night, so I won’t be doin’ that again, so ya don’t need to worry ‘bout it.”

“Good.”

“Why the fuck do ya even care, honestly?”

Kat knew she shouldn’t care but she felt a little sting at that, the reminder that he was absolutely nothing to her and she was nothing to him. “I don’t care what you do in private, but doing stuff like this in public makes me look pathetic and weak, like my boyfriend is out there screwing other girls and I do nothing about it and just stay with him. Nevermind that it sets a completely shit example to your fans, who are primarily young girls need I remind you, if you blatantly cheat on me and I just take it.” 

“Didn’t think about it like that.”

As Niall’s tone indicated that he was taking her comments seriously, Kat didn’t feel it was necessary to continue to drive home her point. So she forced herself not to lecture him any further. Which was more difficult than it should have been -- she was obviously spoiling for a fight with him.

*

The smell of popcorn thick in the air, Kat ducked between groups of girls, keeping her eye open for either a snack bar that sold what she wanted or a merchandise booth. The band was playing in Sunderland that night, where she had met them all for the first time when they’d practiced there a couple of weeks ago, and as there weren’t many friends and family there, she was on her own for the concert, which suited her just fine. She’d waited until they were several songs into their set, thinking that the lines would be shorter then. Clearly she wasn’t the only one with that thought though. Spotting the merchandise booth, she joined the massive line and scoped out all the different items that were for sale. 

There were shirts and cups, hats and water bottles, all emblazoned with the boys’ faces. She saw a white t-shirt with all the guys holding up Niall that she felt like she had to get for one of her sisters. There was another shirt with a red triangle that she was tempted to get for herself, but that would be weird, wouldn’t it? Maybe she’d buy it online later, so no one would know. Although she’d never be able to wear it in public, obviously. Like, ever. Especially after they broke up.

She was just scoping out a purple shirt that would be perfect for Molly when she felt a tap on her arm. She turned to find a younger girl, about 15 or so, staring at her. Kat noticed that the girl had “Future Mrs. Horan” on the front of her shirt, which was pretty adorable.

“Hi?” Kat said, thinking perhaps she was just being friendly.

“Oh my God, it is you! You’re Katherine Hamilton, aren’t you? Oh my God.” The girl’s voice seemed to get increasingly louder as she kept talking. “Oh my God, can I get a picture with you? I can’t believe you’re just out here like a regular fan, this is so crazy. I told you it was her!”

“Could you give this to Harry for me?” One of the girls’ friends shoved a journal into her hands. 

Kat didn’t know if such a thing was allowed. She figured she could give it to the band’s security and let them sort it out. “Sure, I think I can do that. And you can call me Kat.”

“Can we do a selfie now? Please?”

“Why would you want a picture with me?” Despite it happening before, Kat still couldn’t believe people recognized her, and caring enough to get a photo taken with her was a whole new level.

“Are you kidding? You’re dating Niall, you’ve actually met all the boys! You’re a huge deal. Wait, are you guys actually dating?”

“Uh, yeah. We are.” Kat suddenly became aware that they were attracting attention, that there was a circle all around her of young women. “Let’s do the picture quick, I don’t want to hold up the line.”

As the three girls crowded in on either side of her, Kat could hear all sorts of discussion happening around her, everything from “seriously, that’s who he’s dating?”, ”she’s so not pretty” “she has, like, such fat thighs,” to “I like her lip gloss,” which seemed oddly specific, but whatever. 

The second the picture was snapped, several more girls had their phones out and were clamoring to get next to her, pushing the first girls out of the way. Kat grabbed Future Mrs. Horan’s arm to keep her from getting knocked to the ground. Kat realized she was in way over her head but had no idea how to rectify the situation. Kat wasn’t too concerned for herself but there were all sorts of young girls around her that could get hurt if the shoving continued.

“Everyone needs to back off. Ladies, please step back.” Stadium security came pushing through the crowd, scanning the faces in some degree of confusion, trying to figure out who or what had caused the uproar. Kat figured she should help them out so she raised her hand awkwardly, like a middle schooler asking for the bathroom pass, and the security guard pulled her next to him, putting his arm around her body and leading her out of the kerfuffle. 

Someone shouted “Sophia’s way hotter than you anyway!” as Kat was hustled away. The security guard closest to her asked her name and after she’d told him, he’d radioed the info back to someone else. 

They led her to an office which seemed incredibly quiet after the hustle and bustle of the rest of the stadium. “Thank you so much for helping me out back there, but I can find my way back from here,” Kat said. 

“Someone’s actually going to come get you, to make sure you get back safely.”

“That’s really nice but I’ll seriously…” she was interrupted by a knock on the door, which opened to reveal Basil. Great, just great. Now the entire One Direction security staff would know about her incident. 

Kat once again felt like a naughty kid, following Basil out of the office with her head hung in shame. He didn’t say a word to her until they were safely backstage.

“What were you trying to do?” he asked, his voice careful.

“I just wanted to get a shirt for my sisters. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

Basil sat her down on a chair backstage. “Sit here and catch your breath for a bit before you go back to your seat. I’ll go get you a bottle of water. You okay?”

“I’m fine, thanks again, Basil.”

Kat could hear the song wrapping up and the crowd going wild out in the stadium. In all the excitement, she’d almost forgot that the concert was still going on. She heard Liam speaking, thanking the crowd, then Louis came darting off stage, no doubt heading for a bathroom break. She was never sure if the guys actually had to pee during their time on stage or if they just wanted to take a break from the bright lights and intense screaming that they experienced while performing.

Louis came trotting by, did a double take when he realized who it was sitting in the chair and pulled up short in front of Kat. 

She must have looked a mess because he immediately squatted down next to her. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Just then, Basil returned with the water, which he opened and handed to her. While Kat gratefully took a big drink, Basil answered Lou’s question. “She was out by the merch table and about got mobbed. Thankfully the arena security noticed and got her out of there, then called us to come and get her so she could hide out back here for a bit.”

“What were ya doin’ out there?”

“I was just going to get some shirts for my little sisters, I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. And I also wanted, well, I thought I’d get, uh …”

“What?” Louis prodded when she seemed reluctant to continue.

She blushed. “I really wanted some nachos. You know the kind with the neon orange cheese? I don’t even know if you guys have those but something about being in a venue like this always makes me want nachos.”

Louis smiled at her kindly and rubbed her back. “Ya okay now, though, love?”

“I am, thanks. Feel kind of like an idiot but I am an idiot so it works out.”

Shortly after Louis headed back out, Niall came trotting off the stage as well. Obviously Louis, damn him, had told him what had happened. Would there be no end to her shame? 

Once he spotted her, Niall stalked over, his face clouded.

“What were ya thinkin’? That was a genuinely stupid idea, ya know people recognize ya now. It’s one thing to go out by yourself somewhere else, but at one of our concerts, where it’s all fans, that’s like a death wish. I mean, you could --” Niall abruptly cut himself off and when Kat followed his eyes, she saw Basil shaking his head at him, taking a protective step towards her as if to put himself between Niall and Kat.

While Niall was distracted by his staring contest with Basil, Kat quickly wiped her eyes so he wouldn’t see that he’d made her tear up. She was still so shook up from the entire thing that it didn’t take much to send her emotions into overdrive.

Niall rubbed his hands over his face. “Sorry, shouldn’t be yellin’ at ya about this, ya already got a big scare. Ya do realize that we can just get ya any of the tour stuff ya want, you don’t have to go out there and buy it yourself?

“I didn’t want to bother you. And I’m happy to pay for it, you don’t have to give me free stuff.”

“Kat, the mark up on that shite is like 800% or somethin’, I think we can afford to give ya a shirt.”

“It wasn’t for me, it was for my sisters. They’re big fans.”

“Well, I’ll get their sizes and info from ya later and we’ll get stuff sent out to them right away. I’d better get back out there, the lads have already stretched this bit far longer than I thought they could. Crowds going to get restless if we don’t start singin’ soon. Ya gonna be alright? Basil can take ya back out in a bit, when you’re ready.” At her nod, Niall started back, Basil joining him, the two speaking until just before Niall headed back onto the stage.

Kat leaned back in her chair, happy for a few moments alone to gather herself together again. It wasn’t that she’d been scared she’d be hurt, precisely, it was just so much to process, all those fans coming at her and knowing who she was. It was an all too extreme dose of reality that she was not at all prepared for. 

Basil came back a few minutes later, carrying a huge container of nachos and a beer, much to Kat’s delight.

“Oh my God, did Louis tell you to get me those? Or did you overhear me and do this yourself, you dear, dear man?”

“Niall actually made the request, Lou must have told him. You ready to head back out or do you need a bit more time?”

“I’m just going to eat these here, then I’ll go out. I’ll come stand near you, okay? See you in a bit.”

With Basil out of the way, Kat was able to get up close and personal with the nachos. It was easily the most satisfying experience she’d had in weeks.

*

If Kat hadn’t hated the phone before, getting a call from her enraged ex-uncle when she was happily lazing about her hotel room in Manchester would have given her plenty of reasons to hate it for life. When her cell rang and it had been his secretary on the line, Kat hadn’t even thought to be worried, instead assuming he was just checking up on her. If only … 

“Why the fuck didn’t you mention you were a lesbian when you agreed to doing this whole thing?,” were the first words out of his mouth.

When Kat finally regained the ability to speak, she immediately went on the defensive. “First, not actually a lesbian; I’m bisexual. There’s a difference. And secondly, you said you did a background check, I guess I figured you knew and didn’t care. It is 2014, after all, it’s not really that big of a deal.” She tried to remain calm.

“The way you kids are these days, I don’t know how the fuck anyone is supposed to know who’s what anymore. It’s too fucking confusing. And your goddamn mom and those bullshit Christmas newsletters, she never once mentioned that you were queer. This is seriously just our fucking luck, everything this goddamn band touches is gay. Of course we attach the one quasi-straight one to a dyke.”

“Did you seriously just say that? That’s not okay. Not even a little bit. And no, my mom wouldn’t include my sexuality in the annual holiday letter, I’m sorry you were misled,” she said sarcastically, although she was certain he missed her tone. Kat was both horrified and shocked that one, her mom still had him on her Christmas card list and two, he actually read what she included. This call kept getting stranger and stranger. What she wasn’t surprised about at all, sadly, is that her ex-uncle was apparently a homophobic asshole. That part, at least, made sense.

“Whatever, I’m sorry,” he said, although his tone suggested he was anything but. “Well, thanks to you, we’re going to have to up the ante with you two, big time. Marnie will be calling you here in a minute with details. Are there any other big secrets you’re not telling us? Got any illegitimate kids out there? Are you secretly a drug dealer? Seriously, just my fucking luck with this band.”

Before she could formulate a proper response, he was gone. Fucker.

*

“C’mon, open up, open UP …,” Kat chanted as she knocked continuously on Louis and Harry’s hotel room door. As much as she didn’t want to acknowledge the whole conversation with Steve OR the fact that people in the media could be speculating about her sexuality, she knew she had to let Niall know before he got blindsided by it. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be in his room.

Just as she rested her forehead on the door in defeat, certain they weren’t there either, the door was yanked open, causing her to stumble into Louis’ arms. 

“Whoa, whoa, what’s the emergency? Ya alright?” He helped set her back on her feet.

“Do you guys know where Niall is? I really need to talk to him, like, now.”

“He’s not in his room, I take it?” At Kat’s frantic head shake, he shouted back to Harry. “H, you wouldn’t happen to know where Nialler was, would ya?” He walked into the room, motioning for Kat to follow him.

Harry was lying on the bed in just his underwear. Kat immediately turned red and looked up at the ceiling. 

“Hey Kat. Haven’t seen Niall, sorry. Everythin’ okay?” Harry asked, his tone concerned. He sat up and scooted over to the edge of the bed nearest her.

With effort, Kat was able to look at Harry and keep her eyes trained on his face. “Um, not really? I mean, no one’s dead or anything, it’s nothing terrible but I just got my ass reamed by you guys’ management about this article …” She trailed off, not sure how much she wanted to get into it all.

“Ya don’t have to tell us if ya don’t want to, love, but why don’t ya sit and try to calm down a bit.” Louis put his arm around her and walked her over to a chair. He continued, “If ya do want to talk, though, there’s no one more experienced at getting yelled at by management than us two gents.”

“Good point. So …” Kat had no idea where to start. “So, yeah, I’m bisexual, right? And apparently there’s some article out there about how I dated a girl and management saw it and I guess they didn’t know I was bisexual? Even though they totally researched me and it should have come up, I’m not in the closet or anything. Not that there’s anything wrong with being in the closet,” she rushed to say, afraid she’d offended them. She really didn’t know much about their relationship at all, besides the fact that they were adorable together but clearly were not out publicly as a couple. 

“You’re fine, Kat, go on,” Harry said, smiling. 

“So yeah, management didn’t know and they’re pissed because they assumed at first that it meant that I’m only into girls, which I’m not but whatever, and that I didn’t tell them I was bisexual upfront and that now everyone’s going to realize that Niall and I aren’t real and … I don’t know. The world’s going to end, or something equally dire. They didn’t really go into it but I was left with the impression that it would be terrible.”

“This the first time you’ve really had a tussle with ‘em?” Louis asked.

“Yeah, they’ve been nothing but nice to me so far. But I’m in deep shit now. Niall and I are probably going to have to bone in public or something to counteract this. Fuck.” Kat dropped her face into her hands.

“They’ve never gone quite that far, so you should be safe. All the stuff Lou and I have done, they’ve never really even threatened a public boning,” Harry said, chuckling at her word choice.

“But good call on talking to Niall about it before he hears it elsewhere, it’s always better to be prepared for these things to hit,” Louis said, then got up and shuffled through some stuff on the dresser. “Here, here’s the key card to his room -- ya can just wait for him there, catch him first thing.”

“Ooookay. Wait, why do you have the key to his room?” Kat asked, taking the card that he handed to her, noticing it was labeled with Niall’s name.

“I always have the key to everyone’s rooms, yours included, so be warned. Ya never know when you’re going to need to prank someone. Or just get into their stuff for some reason. I know, I know, it’s a big responsibility but someone has to take it on.”

“Well thanks. For the key and just for listening. I’ve never really gotten yelled at like that before so I was a little shook up. But I feel slightly better now. Hopefully Niall takes the news just as well as you two did.” Kat took a deep breath and got up out of her chair, thanking them again as she left their room. She hoped Niall would be back soon so she could just get it all over with.

*

After waiting for two hours, lounging in the living room area of Niall’s suite and messing around on her phone (she was pleased to find out that the story about her wasn’t really being picked up by any big news outlets so maybe it wouldn’t be that big of a deal?), Kat figured she’d earned herself some snacks and drinks from the minibar. Half hour after that, not surprisingly, she had to pee. 

Naturally, the moment she started peeing, she heard the door slam shut out in the main room. “Fina-fucking-ly,” she muttered to herself, trying to finish as fast as possible so she could just talk to him already. 

Kat could hear Niall’s voice through the door and assumed he was on the phone. She rushed over and washed her hands quickly, trying to figure out how she’d get out of his bathroom without scaring him. 

Figuring there was nothing to gain from waiting around any longer, Kat carefully pushed open the door into his bedroom … 

Where a half naked Niall had a mostly naked woman laid out on the bed, kissing his way down her stomach. Kat couldn’t help her quiet gasp.

Or maybe not so quiet. 

Both Niall and the girl whipped their heads towards her, the girl grabbing the duvet and pulling it over her chest. Niall’s face, once the shock faded, looked like murder, if murder could be a facial expression.

Kat flung her hands over her face and started stumbling towards the door, apologizing the whole way. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, I, oh God, I’m just, you’re, oof, fuck,” she cursed, as she slammed into the wall. At that, she turned and ran out of the room, eyes open this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "Earthquake Weather" by Matt Nathanson
> 
> As always, feel free to say hi (or ask any questions you might have or point out any errors you catch) on [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you'd like!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big chapter for you all today! Thank you for the comments & kudos, you have no idea how much they mean to me! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!

Kat considered not answering the door when there was a knock an hour later. She knew it was Niall and she’d rather just never have to see or speak to him again. It was bad enough that she had the images of him and his girlfriend or whatever she was running through her head constantly. She’d actually expected him to hunt her down sooner, but he must have decided to finish what he’d started, so to speak. 

Which, good on him. She was sure his lady friend appreciated it. Plus, Kat hoped that maybe he’d be less angry after having a bit of a release. She still didn’t want to let him in though.

But as Kat was an adult and knew not speaking to him forever wasn’t an actual option, she reluctantly opened the door. 

Niall looked freshly showered but otherwise not particularly happy. Not quite as murdery as before, either, but still fairly displeased. Understandably so.

Kat stepped back to let him into the room, not saying anything.

Niall followed her in, letting the door slam behind him loudly. Kat startled at the sound, then folded herself into the overstuffed chair in her room’s sitting area. Niall sat down on the loveseat across from her. 

They stared at each other for a bit, Niall’s eyebrows raised, clearly expecting her to begin. 

“Who picks someone up at one in the afternoon?” Kat hadn’t intended to start that way, but she felt provoked by the prickish way he was acting. Plus, she was genuinely curious about it.

“She’s an old friend, it’s not like I was out trollin’ the strip clubs, for fuck’s sake -- wait, why the fuck am I explainin’ myself to ya? What the fuck were ya doing in my room, in my loo of all places? And ya ate my food, what the fuck was that about?” Niall yelled, making no effort to keep his voice down. And of course he would focus on the food part of the entire debacle.

“I just needed to talk to you, God, I’m sorry about your Pringles or whatever the fuck they were?”

“And it couldn’t fuckin’ wait? I’d have seen ya at the show.”

“Oh, and we always have such great conversations there,” she said, as sarcastically as she could manage. Which was pretty damn sarcastic considering the pent up rage she felt for the man in front of her.

“If you’re quite finished, perhaps ya can tell me, now, here in the privacy of your room, while we’re engaged in this stimulatin’ dialogue, exactly what it is that ya broke into my hotel room to tell me. Please, Katherine, please enlighten me,” he said with a smirk, leaning back in his seat, his arms resting on the back of the loveseat.

Shit. In all the excitement, Kat had forgotten exactly why she’d broken into his room, why she had stress ate probably three hundred dollars worth of lame hotel minibar snacks.

“Oh. Yeah. About that. Um … have you talked to Marnie? Or, ah, been online at all today?”

“I haven’t and not really. Slept in and then was a bit tied up with Jessica, ya see,” he replied, still smirking like a total asshole.

Right. Well. 

“Spit it out, Kat, or has the c--” he started, already cracking up at himself, before Kat cut him off.

“Don’t you dare fucking say ‘cat’s got your tongue’ like I haven’t heard that one a billion times in my life.” With a deep breath she continued, “So yeah, uh. There’s an article out about me, well, maybe more than one article, I could only find the one but I don’t know, I didn’t really ask. Not that they let me talk all that much but …”

“Today, Kat, today.”

“There’s-a-story-out-about-me-and-my-ex-girlfriend-and-I-guess-people-are-freaking-out-that-you’re-dating-a-girl-that-happens-to-be-into-other-girls.”

Niall froze, then leaned forward in his seat. “What’s that? Did ya just say you have an ex-girlfriend? As in you’re gay?”

“Well, not --,” precisely, is what she was going to say, as she was technically bisexual and not just into girls, which she was fairly certain he meant by using the word gay. Which was a pretty significant difference. But Niall cut her off with laughter before she could get anything else out.

“‘M sorry, I’m not laughin’ about ya bein’ gay, I promise, But this is absolutely priceless. After all of this, them tryin’ to cover up all the gay in the band, and they hire a lesbian as me girlfriend? It’s rich, absolutely rich. Wait, wasn’t it your uncle that hired ya? How did he not know?”

“Well, in his defense, I had a boyfriend in highschool so I guess he thought that no one’s sexual identity changed past the age of 16 or something? And I never really put stuff on my social media about my girlfriend, so the background check must have just thought she was a good friend, the whole ‘gal pal’ thing, you know. Plus, it’s not like our families are close in the slightest. He’s not even married to my aunt anymore and even when he was, we didn’t see each other much. Although I don’t know why I’m defending him to you, he was an absolute homophobic dick on the phone.” Kat frowned remembering that whole conversation. What a weird, shitty day it had been.

Niall continued to laugh far past what Kat felt was appropriate for the situation. She wondered if she should try again to clarify that she was, in fact, not strictly into women, but figured she didn’t owe it to him, or anyone, to define herself. Plus, it’s not like he actually asked or anything. Would serve him right for just making an assumption.

“Listen, I’m sorry this got out if ya didn’t want it to and I’m sorry ya likely got an ass chewin’ from the label over this, I just really appreciate the irony here.”

“It’s fine, I’m not in the closet or anything, all my friends and family know -- I mean, I dated Chloe for almost a year and we went to all sorts of sorority functions and stuff together so that ship has long since sailed. I could have done without the slurs from my uncle though. Fucker.”

“C’mere, ya look like ya need a hug.” He reached across the space in between their seats, tugged her hand, and pulled her onto the couch beside him, folding her into his embrace. Kat was too stunned to do much of anything to react and just let herself bonelessly fall into him. The man gave a good hug, she’d give him that. “Look, I really do feel bad this happened. But it’ll blow over, no big deal. Someone else will do somethin’ stupid -- not that what ya did was stupid, I just mean, the public’s attention will shift away from this quickly. If it really ends up bein’ a big story, Zayn and Lou should thank ya for distractin’ everyone from their video that leaked.” Just a few days prior, a video of Zayn and Louis had turned up online that showed them smoking weed and talking shit about their tour merchandise. Kat knew it had been a big story but neither Zayn nor Lou seemed overly troubled by it. “There’s nothin’ we can do about it anyway, it sounds like the c --”

“Don’t you fucking say it,” Kat warned, knowing what was coming.

He continued on, unperturbed, already laughing at himself, “It sounds like the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, regardless.”

“I hate everyone.”

*

Maybe it was that she was having a perfectly shit day, maybe it was because Louis had hinted to her that he didn’t get along with her, but whatever the reason, Kat pretty much hated Eleanor immediately. Eleanor was at the show that night in Manchester and Kat’s first sight of her was when she was laughing and talking with Lou Teasdale in the main backstage lounge area. 

That she was clearly friends with Lou was the first of several warning signs Kat got from Eleanor. After meeting Lou following the cried-off makeup incident in Dublin, Kat had liked her well enough, but she felt like Lou treated her like she wasn’t cool enough to join her clique. She was always bringing up inside jokes about the boys in general, and Niall specifically, as if to demonstrate that she knew them in ways that Kat never would. Which, of course, was true but Kat didn’t feel like there was any need to get competitive about it. 

Eleanor, however, was her own special kind of awful. When Kat walked over to introduce herself, Eleanor looked her up and down, as in actually, literally looked her up and down, with a disdainful look on her face. Kat persevered and still followed through with her intent to meet her but Eleanor barely gave her the time of day once they'd exchanged names. 

So, yeah, no real friendship potential there.

Kat stood there for a minute, considering whether she should just say “fuck it” to any attempt at politeness and just walk away like she wanted to so badly, when Harry came over and inadvertently saved her. “Hey Kat, can I talk to you for a moment?” He nodded over at Eleanor, which was pretty much the coldest Kat had ever seen him be to anyone in the short time she’d known him, making it quite obvious that he wasn't a fan either. Which made sense, given that she was his boyfriend’s fake girlfriend.

Kat was kind of flattered that Harry wanted to have a chat with her when there were so many other people around to talk to but figured maybe he was just concerned about how her conversation with Niall had gone. She was sort of right.

He waited until they were out of earshot of anyone else. “Kat, why does Niall seem to think you’re only interested in women?”

“Uh, he never asked? He just assumed, when I told him about my ex-girlfriend.”

“Kat,” he sighed, “this is a bad way for you two to be startin’ off. Things are bad enough between you two without stuff like this -- ya gotta start being honest with him and quit playin’ these games.”

“Oh my God, it’s not a game, it’s just if he can’t be assed to, I don’t know, maybe clarify things with me like my sexuality, or, you know, my name, then maybe he doesn’t deserve to know. Alright?” It wasn't Harry’s fault, none of it was, so she tried to keep her cool with him, but she was just about at her boiling point.

To her surprise, Harry immediately conceded her point. “That’s fair.”

“And I’m not purposely trying to hide the fact that I'm into guys as well to make myself seem less threatening to him or anything.”

“That never even crossed my mind. Although it is now.” He looked at her through narrowed eyes.

“Seriously, why do I talk at all?”

*

“Your mobile went off when ya were gettin’ food, didn’t check who it was though,” Niall said as she walked back to her spot beside him at the table.

Kat sat down her plate full of goodies that she'd gotten from Sarah’s Kitchen, the caterers that traveled with the band, then glanced at her cell phone where she’d left if face down on the table. She flipped it over to see who’d texted her. 

Oh. 

Chloe. 

With dread, she clicked to see the entirety of the message.

> _Good to see you’ve moved on. Not at all surprised you’re with a guy now. Thanks for the reminder why I never date bi girls, they always go back to the dick. Congrats on him though, he is kinda pretty._

She’d attached a picture of Kat and Niall that had been included in one of the articles written about them. It was a good picture, just before they had kissed where it looked like they were gazing deep into each other’s eyes.

“Oh, God,” Kat moaned, collapsing in her seat and laying her head onto the table with a thunk.

“Everythin’ alright there, Kat?” Niall asked, mouth full of food.

“Ish fine,” she mumbled without picking up her face.

“Strange, ya don’t seem fine.”

She slid one arm from under the table with the middle finger prominently displayed, swinging it towards the direction of his voice.

Niall grabbed her hand in one of his, tucking her finger back in and trapping it under his palm on the table. “Jesus, Kat, there are people around, don’t do shit like that.”

“Shorry,” she said, again with her face smooshed on the table. She finally rolled her face to the side so she could see him, pulling her hand free from his. She gestured towards her phone. “You can look if you’d like.”

He grabbed her phone and swiped it open, but couldn’t resist giving her a stern, “no password, Kat? Ya need to fix that.” She watched his face as he read the text, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead, although she couldn’t be sure what part the reaction was due to.

“You’re bisexual?” Ah, that part.

“Um, yes?” She picked her head up from the table, figuring she should probably brace herself for what was coming next.

“I thought ya were gay. I mean, a lesbian.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” she retorted, somewhat concerned about the color his face was turning as their conversation continued. 

“For fuck’s sake, Kat, do ya get some sort of sick enjoyment out of not telling me crucial bits of information? First the name and now this shit,” he spat at her, although he kept his voice down as he did so. Kat couldn’t help but be slightly terrified by him at that moment. He looked seriously angry.

“Noted, but maybe you shouldn’t make a habit of just assuming you know everything?” Kat could tell he wanted to rage at her even more, so she continued on quickly, “Could you lecture me later, please? My ex just sent me a super bitchy text, I think I’m allowed a few minutes to wallow without you laying into me about all the different ways I’m failing as your fake girlfriend.”

He very deliberately sat her phone back down on the table, perhaps a little harder than necessary, then pushed back from the table and stormed away, marking pretty much the only occasion Kat had seen him leave food on his plate. Which she supposed was a testament to just how angry he was at her. Kat glanced around the room quickly to see if anyone was paying any attention to them, but it looked like their altercation had gone unnoticed. 

With a shrug, Kat went back to her plate, figuring there was nothing much she could do to calm him down at this point. He’d been slightly nicer to her in the week since she’d told him about the article (although whether his change in behavior was due to him feeling bad for her or as a result of him getting some wasn’t entirely clear) but the honeymoon was obviously over. 

*

It said a lot about her mental state that Kat was actually desperate to go for a run. It had been a few days since Niall had seen her text from Chloe and things between them had reached an all-time low. So with all that going on, she just needed an outlet. She’d been a runner for much of her life, running track in high school and doing both cross country and track her first year of college. but she’d burnt herself out after that and didn’t really run regularly anymore. 

In times of stress, though, Kat found herself itching to strap on her shoes and put in a few miles. Since she wasn’t up for getting yelled at again by either Niall or Basil (not that Basil would yell at her, but she didn’t like to disappoint him either), she checked with the latter via text to see if it was okay if she either ran outside Niall’s house (she was fairly certain that would be a no) as they were in London again -- the boy’s had a three day stretch of concerts there -- or get a day pass at a local fitness center (although as that would require Niall driving her, she wasn’t crazy about that option). But Basil surprised her by suggested that she simply use the workout facilities at the venue, as that was often what the boys did.

Kat didn’t really love the idea of working out with any of the band members. They all were perfectly nice to her but they quite understandably seemed to be keeping their distance from her, likely out of loyalty to Niall. But hopefully she could find a time to run when none of them were in there, which shouldn’t be too hard as they were kept much busier than she was in the time leading up to each concert. 

She was sort of half offended that Niall didn’t even seem to notice that she was so much more sloppily dressed than she normally was heading to a concert venue but she supposed that he didn’t really even notice her anymore. Basil had assured her that they’d find her a place to shower and get ready after her workout, so she wasn’t going to put much effort into how she looked going in, particularly as the guys usually dressed pretty casually. 

She lounged around, chatting with people she knew, including the backing band, before trying to get a connection or friendship started with Sophia with no real success. Kat liked her well enough and Sophia was nice in return, there just wasn’t much there for Kat to go on. Their commonalities seemed to begin and end with being a One Direction member’s fake girlfriend, which surprisingly wasn’t really enough to create a real bond.

Kat waited until the guys and the musical band went to do sound check before heading to go work out, and with Basil’s assistance, she located both a changing room and a gym of sorts, complete with several treadmills, ellipticals, and a whole host of weights.

Post stretching, Kat had barely gotten her treadmill moving when a familiar figure came bopping into the room, laughing at something the man next to him had said. 

Pulling out her earphones, Kat tried to hide her dismay. “I, uh, thought you guys had sound check?”

“We did, quick ‘un today. D’ya mind if I run next to ya?” Harry asked, beginning to stretch out.

Knowing there was only one allowable answer in that situation, Kat said, “Not at all. Have at it.” Trying to look on the bright side, Kat was glad that at least it wasn’t Niall.

“Kat, have ya met Mark Jarvis, our trainer?”

“I haven’t, nice to meet you.” She quickly straddled the track of the treadmill for a moment so she wasn’t moving and stuck her hand out to shake his. He looked like a bouncer more than a trainer but Kat figured he might fill more than one role. 

“Kat’s Niall’s girlfriend, Mark,” Harry explained, his voice cheeky. 

“I see,” Mark responded, grinning at her. 

“Mark can help you with your workout, if ya’d like?” Harry asked.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m just going to run a bit today, not sure it’ll be a regular thing or not yet.” Sufficiently warmed up, Kat upped the speed and incline on her machine. Nothing too crazy but enough to get her heart rate up.

Mark watched her for a bit. “You’ve got a nice stride, I don’t think you need me at all. But I could come up with some circuits for you if you want to change it up a bit.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Kat contemplated whether it would be rude to put back in her headphones, but as Harry finished up his stretches, climbing onto the machine next to her while Mark adjusted the speed for him and they spoke to each other, Kat thought it would probably be okay to put in at least one ear bud. 

Of course Harry noticed immediately. “What are you listening to?”

“Don't make fun of me, but One Direction.”

“Aren't ya sick of listening to us? You hear it live every night!” Mark held up his hand to Harry, signalling that he had five minutes left at that pace, then wandered away, looking at his phone.

“I'm not, at least not yet. But the real reason I'm listening is there are a couple of songs I still need to master the words to. So I'm just kind of boning up on my 1D lyric knowledge.”

“You don't have to know all the lyrics, no one’s watching you that closely at the shows.” 

“No, it's just for me, I’ve always had this burning need to know all the words at any concert I go to. I really love to sing along, even though I have a pretty crap voice.”

“Which ones?” 

“Hm?” Kat was having a hard time keeping the thread of their conversation; she was apparently a bit more out of shape then she’d realized. She slowed her pace down one notch.

“Which songs?” Harry clarified. 

“Well, ‘Alive’ for one. See, I guess I didn't get the deluxe albums or whatever they're called so I didn't have it until I bought all the extra songs on iTunes after the first show. So, also ‘Why Don’t We Go There’ and ‘Moments.’”

“You're cute. Well, I'm happy to help. I just happen to know all the lyrics to ‘Alive.’ We can just sing together and I'll fill in the blanks for you.”

“I'm not singing with you,” Kat said, aghast at his suggestion.

“Why not?” Harry seemed genuinely puzzled at her refusal.

“Did you hear me mention that I'm a terrible singer? I'm not subjecting Harry fucking Styles to the nails on the chalkboard sound that is my voice.” 

He laughed. “I’m sure you’re not that bad. And even if ya are, who cares? I promise I won’t judge. What’s your favorite that we do?”

“Just songs that are in your current set list, right? Um, let me think. ‘Through the Dark,’ ‘Strong,’ ‘Happily,’ ‘Don’t Forget Where You Belong.’” She ticked off the song titles on her fingers as she ran. “Oh, also ‘Best Song Ever’ and ‘Little Things,’ of the songs I knew before.”

“Those are some of my favorites too. Have we made you into a Directioner?”

“No one really calls themselves that, do they?” Kat asked, giving him the side eye. 

“No, I don’t think so. Maybe at the beginning but not anymore. It’s a pretty lame name.”

“It is. But yeah, I’m a big fan now. I’ll totally admit that I only knew your radio stuff before and while I liked it, I never really went looking for more. I don’t mean this as a criticism, but I don’t know that your radio stuff is really representative of your music as a whole, particularly this last album? You guys are amazing. I mean, ‘Through the Dark’ is a jam -- I think you put that on the radio and you get a whole new audience. Not that you guys are hurting for popularity, obviously, but you could be even bigger.”

“Thanks, I agree with ya. We don’t really get to choose our singles, though, so we don’t have a huge say in how we’re marketed or anything. It’s pretty frustrating, to say the least.” Harry shook his head. “Enough of that, no more business talk. Let’s start with ‘Best Song Ever,’ it’s a good sing-a-long one to get ya warmed up.”

By the end of the song, which Harry sang as ridiculously as possible, no doubt to ease her concerns, Kat was belting out the words right along with him, no longer embarrassed or shy at all. They moved on to the songs that Kat was wanting to learn. 

When they’d finished “Moments,” Kat laughingly said, “That’s kind of dirty! I mean, it’s mostly a sweet love song but all that stuff about locking the door and clothes at the end of the bed -- that’s a sex song! And that’s from your first album, weren’t you all of 17 when that came out?”

“It is not a sex song, thank you very much,” Harry replied, mock offended. “And I’m sure you were a very good and pure 17 year old, but not all of us were.”

“Shut it, I just mean that’s kind of a naughty song to be singing to your preteen audience. Although I guess a fair amount of your stuff is sort of racy.”

“Listen to you, gran,” he teased. “I think compared to about 90% of what’s on the radio today, we’re pretty safe.”

“That’s true. And at least it’s good music,” Kat conceded.

“Speaking of racy, we still need to do ‘Alive.’” He looked over at her and once she nodded at him, he started in, singing, “My mother told me …”

Once that one was done, Kat slowed her pace to a walk, resting her hands behind her head as she cooled down, the combination of the singing/laughing and running doing a number on her. All in all, it was the best workout she’d had in months. 

“Yeah, that one’s straight dirty, no way around it. I need to get going, get in a shower and get ready before I’ve got to be seen. Thank you so much for your help, I’m going to feel so much better during those songs tonight.”

“My pleasure.”

*

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

“Kat, it’s time to go. Actually, it was time to go 10 minutes ago so we really need to leave now.” Even through the door, Niall’s annoyance was clear.

Kat set down her mascara and stalked over to her bedroom door, yanking it open. “Well, maybe, just maybe, if _someone_ had told me we were going to a concert more than 30 minutes ago I could have been ready on time. But you didn’t, for no apparent reason, so you’re just going to have to wait five more minutes, okay?”

Niall held both hands up, palms towards her, and walked away, infuriating Kat all the more. She took a couple of deep breaths so her hand would be steady. She didn’t want to poke out an eye while she was finishing her makeup, just because Niall Horan was an inconsiderate jerk.

As she finished up getting ready as quickly as possible (she didn’t actually want to be late, as much as it would have served him right), Kat tried to hype herself up for the evening. They were going to see John Mayer, one of Kat’s favorite artists, whom she’d seen several other times before. She hadn’t really had a moment to get excited about it though, as she was so busy frantically showering and doing the rest of her going out prep. 

Finally done, Kat took another moment to try to calm down before she went out into the living room, where Niall was pacing the floor, gnawing away at the nails on one hand. She hadn’t noticed earlier as she was so blinded by rage, but he was wearing a flat billed Red Sox cap, making him look simultaneously 12 years old AND like a frat rat d-bag. It was the first time she’d seen him looking less than perfect and some part of her revelled in that.

She was tempted to make a comment about it but before she could say anything, she noticed that Basil was sitting on the couch. She had no idea when he’d gotten there but hoped he hadn’t heard them fighting. Although it wouldn’t be the first nor would it likely be the last time if he had.

“Hey Basil, how’s it going?” she asked weakly.

“Good, Kat. How about yourself?” he replied, always so nice to her. 

“I’m good too, thanks. How’s Josh? Did he --”

“We don’t have time for this, you two can chat in the car,” Niall interrupted, his voice dripping with scorn on the word “chat” as he stalked out of the house. Kat and Basil raised their eyebrows at each other simultaneously, causing Kat have to fight to keep her giggles under control. It was comforting for once to have someone there that recognized Niall’s rude behavior for what it was, an ally of sorts. She knew that, if it came down to it, ultimately Basil was firmly on Niall’s side, or should be if he wanted to keep his job, but she appreciated the support he did give her nonetheless. 

Kat and Basil did catch up a bit in the long car ride to the O2 Arena, much to the visible annoyance of Niall, talking about everything from Mayer to Basil’s kids (she’d met one of his sons, Josh, as he’d come to a concert but he also had another older son as well as a daughter). As they got closer to the arena, Kat’s focus switched to checking outside everything outside the car window. She still hadn’t properly seen London -- she was quite familiar with the suburb Niall lived in and felt like a regular at Heathrow but she hadn’t done any real sightseeing. Hopefully there would be time for that in one of her subsequent trips to the city.

After they had parked and were walking to the concert venue, Basil trailing behind them, Niall finally broke his silence and spoke to her. although he didn’t look at her while he was doing so. “Those are some seriously high heels.”

“You threatened by a woman that’s taller than you, Horan?” she attempted to tease him, swinging their linked hands between them.

“You’re not taller ‘n me, you’re wearin’ fuckin’ six inch heels.”

They stopped on a corner, waiting for the light to change, and she looked down at her feet, twisting her ankle so she could see the sole of her shoe. “I don’t think they’re quite that tall.”

“Well, however high they are, d’ya think next time could you wear somethin’ a little less tall?” he retorted, pulling her forward when it was safe to walk.

“Do you honestly think I chose these for myself? They’re so uncomfortable they’re crushing my will to live. Your people gave them to me to wear, so not my fault, bud. But yes, I’m happy to pass along your message to them.”

Niall snorted but didn’t offer any additional comments.

Kat wasn’t done yet, though. Keeping her voice down, she whispered, “Quit being mean to me. I’m sorry you have to do this but I’m trying to make it as easy as possible and you still treat me like shit. Also, are you trying to look like a fuck boy? Because congratulations, you totally do in that hat with that stupid flat bill.”

“I think we’re supposed to go this way,” Basil said, stepping up beside Niall and pointing to a side door rather than the main entrance where people were streaming through. Kat was fairly certain that Basil’d purposely interrupted the two of them before Niall could reply, but Kat wasn’t complaining. She knew she shouldn’t have said that, that she should take the high road but she just couldn’t seem to stop herself. Besides, she was heading home the next day so she just had to get through one last evening with him.

At the side entrance, Basil spoke to the people at the door, showing them some sort of passes he had hanging from a couple of lanyards and getting information from them. Kat assumed that it was some sort of special celebrity way of going into concerts. Because obviously they couldn’t just enter like mere mortals.

“Uh, where are we going?” Kat said as they followed an employee through the hall, understanding dawning on her slowly.

“Backstage.”

“Why?” Kat said, panicking.

“I want to say hi to John, that okay with you?” Niall asked, his tone suggesting he didn’t really care what her answer was.

“I’m going to meet John Mayer?” Kat breathed.

“Calm yourself,” Niall replied dismissively.

And then, before Kat could even attempt to get her head around the idea, there he was, walking towards them. John Mayer, her man crush extraordinaire. Kat tried to remember how to breathe.

“Niall, good to see you again.” They did the classic bro handshake, half hug thing.

“You too, John. This is Kat Hamilton, Kat, John Mayer.”

Kat gave an awkward little wave and squeaked out a “hi.”

“Nice to meet you, Kat.”

“Kat’s a big fan of yours, she saw ya in Nebraska this last fall.” Clearly Niall had been listening to her and Basil’s conversation, not that he’d participated at all.

“Oh yeah? That was the first concert of that leg of the tour, wasn’t it?” John asked, smiling at her.

Kat nodded enthusiastically, her voice having fled the scene, apparently.

“And that was a new stadium too, right? Nice place.”

Kat cleared her throat, trying desperately to make her voice sound somewhat normal. “Yeah, you were the first concert I saw there. They did a really good job with it. You were amazing, by the way.”

“Thanks. Hope tonight’s show isn’t too much of a repeat for you, but I’ve switched up the set list a lot since then so it shouldn’t be.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great. ‘Sides, I listen to these guys,” she thumbed over at Niall, “every night and I still enjoy it. And I’m nowhere near as big of a fan of them as I am of you.” Kat’s eyes widened as she realized what she’d just said. “Uh, I, ah, I mean …” 

But she didn’t need to worry about clarifying her comment because both John and Niall were laughing too loudly for them to even hear her had she said anything. As she stood there, red faced and feeling like the biggest idiot to ever walk the earth, Niall put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her temple, chuckling, then turned back to John. “She’s good for me ego, as ya can see.”

“Well, she’s certainly doing wonders for my own self esteem, not that I need much help in that department,” John replied, still laughing a bit. He looked at Kat kindly, noting her embarrassment and shooting her a gentle smile. “Would you like to take a picture together? Since you’re a fan and all.”

“Oh my God, yes, that would be amazing.” John stepped over and put his arm on her back as she handed her phone over to Niall, her back tingling where he was touching her. She was glad she had on the tall heels then, John was so tall that she would have looked like a little kid next to him in flats. 

Once Niall’d snapped a couple of pictures of them and Kat had thanked John, she said to Niall, “Here, let me take one of you two.” They switched places and swapped phones, Kat feeling quite pleased with the photo she’d taken of the two of them. 

“We’d better get out to our seats, let ya get ready for the show. Good luck out there,” Niall said.

“Thanks, I’ll have to try to catch you guys soon as well. With Kat’s ringing endorsement, how could I not?” John laughed. Kat flushed again and John pulled her into a quick hug, shook Niall’s hand and it was all over.

As they walked out of the backstage area, picking up Basil again, Niall could tell that Kat was mentally kicking herself for what she’d said. Rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, he whispered, “Kat, don’t worry about it. Not a big deal at all.”

Kat sighed. “Can we get drinks? I need a big beer, stat.”

“Sure,” Niall replied and handed off their order to Basil before heading to the luxury box they’d be viewing the concert from. Walking in, Kat saw two familiar, grinning faces.

“Kat, you’ve met Ashton and Luke, right?”

“Right. Good to see you guys again. And while you’re not working!” Kat internally cringed, hating that her default small talk often came out sounding exactly like something her mother would say.

The opener was an artist named Andreas Moe that Kat wasn’t familiar with, but she enjoyed his set. Somewhat diminishing her appreciation, however, was the way Niall stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, swaying her to the music. She was sure it looked sweet but she was still mad at him. Making her even more upset was how good he was at faking it. It just wasn’t fair that he could be so horrible to her in private but put such a good face on it when they were out and about. The two extremes were too much for Kat.

After the opening act was finished, Ashton, Luke, and Basil ran to use the restroom and get more drinks, leaving Kat and Niall alone in the suite. Once the other guys were gone, Kat stepped forward out of Niall’s arms, leaning out of their private box somewhat and looking around the stadium. She tried to ignore all the stares and phones pointed at them, mentally pretending to be somewhere else, something she never thought she’d be doing while at her favorite musical artist’s concert. 

Niall inched up beside her and whispered into her ear, “Don’t forget, we’re supposed to kiss at some point tonight. Marnie said to make it good, too, to make up for that story about your ex-girlfriend.”

“What if we don’t, though? I mean, they really can’t do that much to you, can they? And they’re hardly going to fire me over one non-kiss,” she scoffed. Her forehead creased in thought. “I mean, I don’t think they would?” she asked, her voice much less certain than it had been.

“Kat, it’s just easier to do it, it’s not that big of a deal,” Niall sighed.

“I just really don’t want to kiss you tonight, to be honest. You’ve been nothing but mean to me the entire evening.” Kat knew she was maybe being a little too truthful but she was over it. So so over it. 

Although she did feel a little twinge of her conscious about the whole “nothing but mean” comment as he had actually been quite nice after her boneheaded moment with Mayer earlier. The slight guilt was removed entirely by Niall’s next words.

“I don’t want to kiss ya either,” Niall said, yanking on her arm none too gently to turn her towards him. They scowled at each other for a moment.

His annoyance very clear, Niall pulled her to him and pressed a hard kiss to her lips, so quickly that she was forced to catch herself on his chest or risk falling over. But rather than pull away immediately as he no doubt expected, Kat grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and held him locked against her. She kissed him back just as roughly, nipping his bottom lip with more force than she would typically use.

At that, Niall growled, actually _growled_ , and spun them around, pushing Kat up against the wall before sliding his tongue into her open mouth and kissing her deeply. Kat was stunned, but only momentarily, then she was kissing him back just as hungrily, feeling a strange combination of angry and turned on. 

“Whoa whoa whoa, what’s goin’ on here?” Ashton’s laughing voice cut through the fog surrounding the two of them and they jerked apart. “You two do realize you’re in public, right? And there are all sorts of people with cameras mere meters away?”

As Kat wiped her mouth and stared at the ground, trying to pretend she was anywhere but there, Niall made a quick recovery. He laughingly replied, “Yeah, yeah, just kind of forgot ourselves for a moment, isn’t that right, babe?”

Kat continued to act like nothing had happened, instead walking over to Basil to grab the beer he’d gotten her. Without making eye contact ( _God, what must he think?_ ), she mumbled a quick “thank you” to him and returned to where she’d been standing before, although she left a decent sized space between her and Niall for her own well being. 

The lights turned down and the music cut out, letting the stadium know that the concert was about to start. As the beginning notes of “Queen of California” rang out through the arena, Niall took up his previous position right behind her and Kat tried, she really, really tried, to block him out, although her zinging nerve endings didn’t help her at all. 

Also not helping? Niall periodically placing small kisses where her shoulder curved into her neck, where the scoop neck of her dress left her skin bare and vulnerable. Even when he wasn’t doing that, just feeling his warm breath through her hair was giving Kat heart palpitations.

And then there was the singing. Not Mayer singing, which Kat obviously expected and enjoyed completely. But Niall singing along, into her ear like her own amazing personal concert. It wasn’t every song -- he clearly was more of a casual fan than Kat was -- but enough to keep her feeling weak and completely, 100% affected by him. 

Kat knew that kiss was a bad idea. The absolute worst. 

Kat had never particularly thought of herself as a masochist, but Niall’s arrogance and rude behavior towards her seemed to be doing nothing to decrease her attraction to him. This whole thing would be so much easier if she could just distance herself emotionally from him but, for whatever reason, she couldn’t seem to do it. He was a dick, sure, but he was hot and she still kinda wanted him.

As much as it made her hate herself for it.

When the concert was over and she, Basil, and Niall were headed back to the car, she finally snapped out of her Niall-induced fog enough to rave about the concert. “I can’t believe he played that Van Morrison cover! And ‘XO’! And ‘Edge of Desire!’” she rambled. “Oh, and ‘In Your Atmosphere!’ God, what a set list!! I still need to hear ‘Walt Grace’ though, I can’t imagine hearing that live! Have you heard it live before? Now that I say that, I don’t actually know if he’s played it since he’s been back, I’ll have to look it up. What was your favorite?”

Niall gave her a look. “Ya weren’t kiddin’ when ya said ya were a big fan, huh?”

“Uh, yeah. Was me knowing every word to every song not enough to tip you off?” she said, giving him a serious side eye.

“I didn’t hear ya singin’.”

“I just mouthed the words. You’re a professional singer, Luke and Ashton are professional singers. I’m not actually going to sing in front of you guys.”

“Heard ya sang with Harry the other day?” Niall challenged.

“That was totally against my will, he bullied me into it.” He just rolled his eyes in response.

A few blocks away from the arena, Kat gave up the fight. She plopped down on the pavement, yanking the vicious shoes off her feet. Niall, noticing she wasn’t beside him anymore, looked back at her, an appalled expression crossing his face when he realized she was going to walk barefoot on the sidewalk. 

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s either this or my feet will start bleeding. Those are the worst shoes ever, I don’t care how much they cost.” Kat saw Niall and Basil exchange a look as she stood up again but she was in too much pain to care. “I’ll be careful, quit worrying, dads.”

“Kat, here, I’ll give you a piggyback ride, hop up,” Basil came over in front of her, squatting down somewhat so she could get on more easily. 

“Basil, that is so sweet of you, but I’m seriously okay. I’m a runner, I have tough feet, don’t worry.” She patted his back, touched by his concern.

He looked over his shoulder at her, not relenting. “I’m not letting you walk barefoot here, I’m just not. Get on,” he said sternly. 

“Fuck, c’mere, I’ve gotta do it,” Niall said, annoyed. When Kat started to protest, he cut her off, “If the paps see Basil givin’ ya a piggyback ride, they’ll have a field day with it. Like I’m too much of an asshole to carry ya, but I’ll force me poor bodyguard to do it. Get on, Kat, not another word.”

Kat could see she had no choice, she absolutely could not force her feet into those shoes again and neither of the men would allow her to walk barefoot without a major fight, so she hopped onto Niall’s back when he presented it to her, wrapping her arms around his neck, her shoes dangling from one hand. “Thanks,” she muttered, then reached back with one arm to make sure her dress was sufficiently covering her ass, which, thankfully, it was.

Niall hitched her up, his hands underneath her thighs, grumbling as he did so. 

“You know what also wouldn’t look good to the press?” Kat said into his ear as he began walking. “You scowling like an enormous baby because you’re forced to carry your girlfriend. So maybe lighten up a bit.” She flushed immediately when she realized her word choice. “And if you say one word about my weight right now, or me being the one that needs to lighten up, you’re a dead man.”

Nial harrumphed, “‘M not an idiot, wouldn’t have said anythin’. ‘Sides, you don’t weigh much at all. And not that you can see me, but I’m not frownin’, alright? Not smilin’ either, but …”

“Thank you,” she said again, meaning it this time. “Is this okay for your knee?”

“It’s fine. And you’re welcome.” Kat rested her chin on his shoulder, figuring she had no choice but to enjoy the ride. 

*

Kat quietly walked into the kitchen later that night, hoping Niall was long since asleep. There was no one around but she could hear sounds coming from his room. Sounds she was certain came from an adult film of some sort because there was no one in real life was quite that vocal.

But no, some of those noises were definitely in Niall's voice so he must have invited a friend over after Kat was already in bed. Of course he had.

Kat filled her water glass from the pitcher in the fridge, trying to move quickly so there wasn't any chance someone would catch her and it would look like she was eavesdropping. 

As she was walking back to her room, she couldn't help but linger a moment longer than was necessary, as despite herself, she found herself getting slightly aroused by the heated sounds emerging from Niall's side of the house.

As one minute turned into three, Kat realized what she was doing and shook herself, hustling back to her room like she should have done immediately. Niall deserved his privacy, not to be creeped on by someone he was forced to share his home with.

But if she maybe thought a little bit about him during her self love session later, well, no one needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: “XO” by John Mayer
> 
> HIt me up on [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you'd like to chat, or if you'd just like to see an incredibly boring blog ft. OT5!
> 
> If you like the story, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry) on Tumblr, thanks!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks for all the comments and kudos I've been receiving lately, it makes me so excited to work on the next chapters!
> 
> Much love to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/) for editing this chapter so quickly for me!

“You could wear this shirt, I wore it on the cover of the _Midnight Memories_ album. Loads of people’d recognize it.” Rifling through the stack of t-shirts he had in neat little piles, by color no less, in his enormous walk-in closet, Niall pulled out a gray shirt with red writing and held it up. In an effort to help further legitimize their relationship, Marnie had told Kat that she needed to be seen and photographed in something of Niall’s. Kat thought it was a little obvious and heavy handed but she wasn’t going to put up a fuss after her recent dust up with management. Besides, it was easy enough to do.

So she found herself in his room for the first time, more specifically in his impressively organized closet. She didn’t see any evidence of his late night guest, although Kat was hardly surprised about that. Niall seemed way too anal to just leave a discarded condom wrapper laying around or anything like that.

Reading the shirt Niall had chosen, Kat couldn’t help the offended look on her face. “I can’t wear a Wisconsin shirt, I’m from Nebraska. Do you know how much shit I would get if people at home saw me wearing a Badgers shirt? I’d never hear the end of it. My father would probably disown me.”

“Ooookay then.” He raised his eyebrows and gave her a serious side eye.

“What, I’m sure there’s something you’d feel similarly about, like soccer or something? Like who’s Derby County’s big rival?”

“Oh baby, that’s sweet, ya know me footie team.”

“Fuck off, Horan.” She tried very hard to ignore the swoop she’d felt in her stomach when he’d called her baby and instead flipped through his clothes that were hung up, pulling out a baseball shirt with yellow sleeves. “Oooh, I like this. And it’s an Eagles shirt to boot? This, absolutely this. I’ve totally seen pictures of you in this, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Well, is it okay if I wear it? I’ll take good care of it, promise.”

“Sure, whatever.” He was busy flipping through some shirts on the other side of the closet. “Oh, you should definitely take this too.” He held out a striped t-shirt, turning it so Kat could see the front. 

“No way, you have a Nebraska shirt?”

“Yeah, they had me wear it in South America, so a month ago or there abouts? After you and I had met but before we were public.”

“That’s super subtle, I doubt anyone even caught on to that. And super subtle isn’t really their way of doing things, so I’m a bit surprised.”

He shrugged, unconcerned. “D’ya wanna take it or not?”

“Sure, why not? Thanks.” Kat held up the Eagles shirt. “I'll go put this on then I'm all ready to go. Do you really have to take me? Surely I can just get a cab or something?”

“Nope, it's gotta be me. Instructions were quite clear.”

“Think they'd back off a bit after last night. Those pictures are everywhere already.” Kat tried to keep her tone casual, not wanting Niall to think that she’d thought anything about what had happened between the two of them in the luxury box. When in reality she’d been up half the night going over it all in her mind. That and, uh, other things.

And that had been before she’d gone online that morning and seen it all laid out in all its photographic (and frankly, slightly pornographic. Kat _really_ hoped her parents wouldn’t see any of them) glory. It had really happened, they had full-fledged made out for a few short moments before they were interrupted. It felt very different from any of their previous kisses, despite being primarily motivated by anger. But if he wasn’t going to make a big deal about it, neither was she. And she was leaving anyway, going home for at least a few weeks. So whatever, it was fine. No big deal.

“Yeah but those were just fan pics, not the quality that pap pictures would be. Has to be a tearful airport goodbye with professional shots,” Niall replied. 

“Well, you're going to have to be the one to cry then because there's no way I'm going to be able to muster up any tears. Although maybe I'll be able to; I’ll just cry with relief that I'm going to get a break from all this for awhile.”

Niall snorted but didn't say anything. Kat suddenly felt like a jerk. “Sorry, that was super unnecessary. This is just all … a lot for me. It's got nothing to do with you. Well, something to do with you but it's not your fault, mostly,” she babbled. “I'm just tired, I didn't sleep great last night.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“I know,” Kat said without thinking, then flushed.

Niall looked at her, eyebrows raised, but zero percent embarrassed.

“I got a drink in the middle of the night. Your … uh, friend was loud.”

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said, his voice telling a different story.

“Get that smug look off your face, you're clearly not sorry in the slightest.” Kat chose that moment to get herself out of there, not wanting to talk about that topic for another moment. “Okay, I’m going to go change. I’ll be ready in a minute.”

*

“Oh there it is, my most favorite spot in all of London, the airport!”

Niall gave her a weird look.

“I was being sarcastic, as it’s pretty much the only place I’ve been here. I’m sure there are lots of other super cool and interesting things here but all I’ve seen is your house, pretty much. Not that it isn’t lovely.” 

Basil pulled them into the short term parking and grabbed Kat’s bags out of the back and they were off, headed into the busy airport. Even though Niall was dressed pretty inconspicuously, in a t-shirt and a backwards baseball cap, he didn’t go unnoticed and soon they were leading a group of girls through the concourse, making Kat feel a bit like the pied piper. Or, like the pied piper’s girlfriend, she supposed, as they were all obviously following Niall. 

Kat had half expected him to wear another flat billed cap after she’d mocked the one he’d worn the night before, but he hadn’t. Probably was warned not to as it could get in the way of the kissing they were supposed to be doing, not that it had really deterred them then.

The crowds kept their distance as they walked hand in hand through the busy building, hanging back when Kat checked in for her flight and got her boarding pass. Niall walked with her right up to right before she had to go through security, then stepped over to the side so they were out of the way of people hustling to make their flights. 

Niall plopped down her carry-on bag that he’d insisted on carrying before turning to face her. He tucked her hair behind her ears, leaving his hands on her neck, his thumbs rubbing softly at the delicate skin under her ears. As he looked into her eyes, Kat could feel her cheeks heating up, so rather than wait for him to make the first move while she got more and more flustered, she pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him herself, balancing herself by placing her palms flat against his chest. Niall’s quick intake of breath told Kat that she’d surprised him somewhat, which made her happier than it should have, but he quickly gained the upper hand again when he tilted his head and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth.

Kat lost herself in the kiss, just following his lead but giving as good as she got. When he finally pulled back awhile later, they were both panting slightly. 

Remembering where they were and what they were doing, Kat whispered, “They should be very happy with those pictures, shouldn’t they? I mean, I think that meets the definition of an official make out session.”

Niall laughed quietly. “And what might that be?”

“Switching sides. You know, when you start with your noses on one side of each other’s.” Kat reached up, her head tilted to one side and gave him a soft kiss. “But somewhere in there, you move to the other side.” Kat tilted her head the other way and kissed him again. “Like that. But, you know, with tongue. That’s making out.”

“Is that the official definition, now?” he asked with a smile. 

“Nah, I don’t think so. Just what me and my friends came up with. After many arguments about whether one of us had just kissed someone or had made out with them. Not really all that important of a distinction, really but it felt like something we needed to clarify to be precise.”

“Precision is important with these kinds of things,” Niall agreed, moving his hands to her shoulders, before sliding them down her arms to grab her hands. 

“So neither of us really have to cry do we? If we just look sad, that’s enough right?” Kat questioned, mostly teasing.

“I think so.”

“Are you going to even be able to look sad, though? I imagine me going through security all downtrodden looking as instructed while you’re walking out of this place, clicking your heels together in glee because you’re free of me for a long while.”

“I may be Irish -- proudly so -- but ‘m not actually a leprechaun, ya understand that, right?”

Kat squinted at him, considering. “I’m not convinced. You’re awfully jolly, that seems pretty leprechaun-like to me and you’re obviously lucky as fuck.” At that, he pulled her towards him, squeezing and tickling her sides, until she was begging him to stop.

He did, pulling her into a hug before tipping her chin up to him. “See, I got ya to cry, managment should be happy now.”

“Tears of laughter might not be what they wanted but it’s something.” Leaning back in the circle of his arms, Kat looked down at her watch. “I’d better get going, security takes forever when you’re not with a bunch of rockstars flying private. Have fun in … uh, where are you guys off to next?”

“Sweden, I think. Not for a few days though.”

“Well, enjoy your time off then and travel safe. You too, Bas.” She called over to the man standing a respectful distance away from them, very decidedly not looking at them at all. He glanced over at her words, smiling and giving her a small salute. 

“One more for the paps, come ‘ere.” Niall kissed her again, cradling her face in his surprisingly large palms. Kat wondered how long it would be before she kissed him again and felt a momentary pang of melancholy at the thought. Maybe looking sad after they parted wouldn’t be so hard. 

“Okay, you’d better go. See ya soon, or not so soon, I don’t know.” He clearly knew as little about her schedule as she did.

“Sounds good.” As she stepped away, she couldn’t resist running over and hugging Basil really quickly, much to his surprise. He returned her embrace though, and whispered in her ear, “Safe flight. Text me when ya get home. And chin up, ya hear?”

“Will do. See ya.” Kat waved at the two of them, making her way to the security lines. When she risked a glance back, she noticed Niall already dealing with the fans that had been hovering around while they said their goodbyes, respectfully keeping their distance. He caught her eye and blew her a kiss, which she laughingly caught and pulled to her chest. Even from where she was, Kat could hear the “aahs” from the girls around him, so she didn’t think she could be blamed for cracking up rather than pulling the sad face that was expected of her. The paps were likely more focused on Niall anyway, so she wasn’t too worried. Regardless, nothing could really get her down, she was finally going home!

*

Kat did nothing but sleep for about two days when she got home. She emerged from her slumber, though, to answer her mom’s phone call, knowing they were anxious to catch up with her. After hanging up the phone, Kat went in search of Becca and found her in the living room watching tv. 

“What’s up, Sleeping Beauty?” Becca asked.

Kat pulled her messy hair into a high ponytail, curling up next to Becca on the couch. “Just talked to my mom, and I totally forgot I have this wedding I’m supposed to go to this weekend. It’s a girl I graduated from high school with that’s getting married and my parents are going too so it’ll be fine, but ugh, I’m so not looking forward to it. So many people from home have been messaging me since this thing with Niall started, I can see this being a total shit show.”

“Please, please let this not be the part where you ask me to go. I mean, not that I wouldn’t love to be the only black person in the place but I have zero desire to go to your small town wedding-slash-shit show, Kat.”

“Oh, Jesus, no way would I do that to you. I’m just bitching,” she groaned but then perked up. “There’ll be cake though, that counts for something, doesn’t it?”

“It would have to be some pretty fucking amazing cake to make up for this. And a fully stocked open bar.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be a cash bar, maybe, _maybe_ free beer if I’m lucky. That’s how these things go. It’ll be some sort of loose meat sandwich that I’ll get out of a tin foil serving dish in a buffet line, the whole town will be there, the world’s worst DJ will be playing -- they’ll play both ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ and the ‘Cha Cha Slide,’ probably even ‘Mony Mony’ and ‘Love Shack,’” Kat paused to mock shudder, “and I’ll be in the corner trying to drown my sorrows with $5 mixed drinks. God, I sound like such a snob, don’t I?”

“You do, but I still love ya. Not enough to actually go to this thing with you, but, like, a lot. A lot a lot. Honest.”

*

“Kat, you home?” Becca called as she entered their apartment, home from work for the day.

“On the couch, per usual!” Kat yelled back. “Congrats on being done with work for the week!”

Becca came in and plopped down on the overstuffed chair next to the couch that Kat was sprawled on. “Thank you, so happy it’s Friday,” she said. “Hey, have you heard that new Ed Sheeran song yet?”

“No, is it fabulous? I can’t wait until his album comes out. I didn’t totally love his first single though, I’m not always a fan of his uptempo stuff.”

“Well, you’re probably not going to like this one much either as it’s pretty similar to ‘Sing.’ Also…” she trailed off.

“Also what?”

“Well, after they’d played the song, the DJ was talking about how everyone’s trying to figure out who the song’s about -- it’s about this girl that Ed was dating that cheated on him with one of his friends.”

“Ouch. So who do they think it is? I can’t remember if he’s dated anyone famous before? I know there was always speculation and him and TSwift but that never seemed real to me.”

“Yeah, I guess they think it’s Ellie Goulding, you know her, right?” Becca asked.

“Yeah, I like her, I really liked that ‘Lights’ song. I didn’t know they dated though. Interesting.”

“You haven’t heard the interesting part yet. Apparently the guy she cheated on Ed with was Niall.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. I mean, who knows if it’s true or anything but the DJ was all about it, talking about how Niall’s dating a girl from Lincoln now but that it shouldn’t be a big deal because this was way before you guys got together.”

“They talked about me on the radio?” Kat squeaked.

“Kat, they’ve been doing that every time anything happens with you guys. Besides the NU football players, you’re roughly the only celebrity the state has right now.” Kat felt incredibly weird about being any sort of a celebrity, let alone at the status of the football players at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska didn’t have any professional sports to speak of, so Husker football was pretty much a way of life in the state. The amount of worship and attention that full-grown men and women heaped on a bunch of 18 to 22 year old young men had always baffled Kat. Not that she wasn’t a fan -- she was -- but she’d never obsessed over it to that level.

But at least those guys deserved all the attention they deserved, they were incredible athletes and worked very hard to be the best at what they did. And what was she? Just a girl dating a rich guy for money, at the end of the day. Not something to be famous for at all, something kinda gross, really.

“Kat, you okay? You look like you’re going to cry.”

“I’m fine, I am. I don’t really care about the whole Ed Sheeran thing, I don’t, but … I … I just really didn’t think all this through. This is just the worst.”

“Kissing a hot guy and getting to go to free concerts nightly and travel all over the world is the worst thing ever? I think you might be exaggerating a bit,” Becca teased.

“Listen, bitch, could you just let me vent a little bit?” Kat laughingly said. Becca’s answering chuckle made her feel a tiny bit better. “Of course it’s not the literal worst thing ever, but it still super sucks. Niall hates me most of the time, absolutely hates me, and I can’t really blame him. The band’s management is the devil and just fuck them over in every way imaginable, in so many ways that I can’t even talk to you about because of my contract. So of course he hates me, to him I’m on their side. And none of the other guys want to talk to me either, because why would they? Why would they even bother with me? And I have to fake everything in front of everyone else so there’s no real chance of a connection with any of them as it’s all based on a lie. And the whole being in the public eye, by being with someone famous, is so draining and horrible. Maybe, just maybe, it would be worth it if you really cared about a person, but when you’re pretty much doing it for the money, like the horrible, mercenary person that I am, and you get zero support from the person you’re supposedly with, it’s shit. And I have to put on this act for such a huge portion of my day, it’s exhausting. And the fans all hate me, apparently, and I get the meanest comments on Instagram and messages on Twitter. They hate me, hate my clothes, think I’m fat, think I’m ugly, think Niall could do so much better. Which is obviously true. I mean, --”

“Kat, stop. I won’t let you dog on yourself like this. I’m so sorry that this is so hard for you, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. I know I like to tease you and give you shit, but I hate that you’re so alone and going through all of this. I wish we’d have thought this through when you got offered the job initially, but I don’t think there’s any way we could have known what it would really be like. We’re just a couple of nobodies from Middle America, what do we know about celebrities or stunt dating? It’s been eye opening, to say the least.”

“I do have to say, though,” Becca continued, “and I know you don’t want to talk about this, but those pictures, where he’s got you pinned up against the wall like he’s going to devour you, that doesn’t look like the behavior of someone that hates someone.”

“Pfft.”

Becca laughed. “Well, that was a dignified response, I can’t really argue with you there.”

“It’s just not real. You don’t even know how good he is at all this, like, he should consider going into acting, he’s so good at pretending to like me when we’re in public. But behind closed doors, it’s a completely different story.”

“So he’s always mean to you when you’re not performing or acting, whatever?”

“Well, not always always, but a lot of the time.”

“What’s the difference, do you think, between the times he’s mean to you at home and when he’s not?”

“Huh.” Kat tried to think her way through Becca’s probing question. 

“You really do have a way with words, Kat.”

“Fuck off, how’s that for using my words?” Knowing that she wasn’t going to get it exactly right, Kat forged ahead with her answer. “Um, I don’t really know? He’s naturally a pretty easy going, nice guy, from what I can tell. So, when we’re together and he, like, forgets or whatever that I’m there simply because of his horrible management, forgets that he hates me because of that, then … then he’s pretty nice.”

“Almost like he doesn’t hate you at all, hm?”

“Jesus, Becs, when did you become a psychologist? Or relationship counselor or whatever bullshit you’re pulling on me right now? Whatever though, even if he doesn’t totally hate me -- which I’m not at all convinced is true -- he’s never going to get over the fact that I’m his fake girlfriend, that I’m paid to be there. So where could we even go from there? I can’t change that and he can’t let it go. It’s a dead end.” Kat sighed. 

“Do you think it’s possible that there’s anything more there than him just not hating you?”

“Like he actually likes me?” At Becca’s nod, Kat snorts. “No, no chance of that at all. I guess I haven’t told you about the time I walked on him going down on a girl? Or, hey, the night of those pictures of him trying to devour me, like you said? Yeah, he had a girl over that night too and you should have heard the sounds she was making. He’s zero percent interested in me.”

“So you’re saying that the night he humped you against a wall he ended up having to call someone else to get off? Yeah, that sounds like you got him all worked up and he needed an outlet.”

Kat hadn’t thought about it that way at all, not that it really mattered. She supposed it was possible that their make out session that night had left him wanting more but clearly he hadn’t wanted it from her. “Nope, sorry, that’s not a thing. And I’m not talking about it anymore, okay? It’s just pointless and to be honest, it makes me feel like a complete loser because as much as I maybe wouldn’t mind him being into me, that’s absolutely never going to happen. So I’m not setting myself up for any more disappointment than I get from him on the regular. That make sense?”

“Totally. Sorry if I’m upsetting you, you know that’s not my intention.”

“Oh I know, don’t worry. I’m sorry to do nothing but vent to you, Becca.”

“Don’t be, that’s what friends are for.”

“A real friend would go to the wedding tomorrow with me,” Kat couldn’t help but tease, trying to shake off her bad mood after their deep discussion.

“Well, guess I’m a fake friend then, to go along with your fake boyfriend. What, too soon?”

Kat threw one of the sofa pillows at her, laughing. “Way too soon.”

*

As much as Kat loved going home to see her family and catch a football or basketball game at her former high school, she’d always hated how much of a spectacle it all was. Her hometown was so small that any comings and goings, even that of former students, was a BIG DEAL and VERY EXCITING and everyone and their dog wanted to know what exactly you’d been up to.

And that had just been the case when Kat had been off at college, a whole 20 minutes away. So throw dating a famous boy band member onto that and, yeah, Kat hadn’t been exaggerating at all when she told Becca her concerns for the wedding she was going to with her parents. 

After being at the church for all of 10 minutes, Kat had already lost track of the number of times that people had asked her “where’s your boyfriend?”, each person laughing like they’d just said the funniest, most original joke ever. Kat had patiently explained that Niall was in Sweden (she’d double checked before she’d came) and had a concert that night, so he couldn’t have been there. 

Well, she’d patiently explained that the first few times, then, seeing her growing annoyance, her mom had taken over for her. She’s had a bit of a break during the ceremony, thankfully, but it had started up again immediately after the bride and groom had walked back down the aisle, hand in hand. 

The reception was more of the same, which made Kat worried that the bride would be angry at her for stealing some of the spotlight from her on her big day. This concern, however, was squashed when the bride and groom made their way around to each of the tables to thank the guests for coming and the bride had plopped down on the open seat beside Kat and grilled her about her relationship with Niall. Kat was quite glad that she had her story straight, sticking close to the official narrative they’d agreed upon so she was sure she wouldn’t mess it up.

Once the drinks were flowing (Kat had assumed right, free beer but guests had to pay for anything else), the attention had shifted to where it should be, on the general wedding merriment and dancing that followed the dinner. Kat started actually enjoying her evening, although she couldn’t help but notice the very apparent differences between a night out here at home versus a night out with One Direction. Although both certainly had their charms.

As Kat was catching up with one of her favorite high school teachers, sitting at a table a safe distance from the dance floor so they could actually hear each other, she looked up to see the bride and two of her bridesmaids headed their way, determined looks on their faces. Before they arrived, she heard the unmistakable opening bars to “Best Song Ever” (well, that or “Baba O’Reilly” but Kat could pretty quickly tell the difference between the two by that point). 

“You,” the bride said to Kat, “have to come dance with me, right now.” 

Kat groaned, not wanting to draw anymore attention to herself than she already had. But she figured it would look way worse if she refused to dance, as though she was either too good for the wedding party or for her boyfriend’s music, so she got up and let herself get dragged out onto the dance floor. Surprisingly, though, Kat had a lot of fun and stayed out on the dance floor for several more songs, loving both the actual dancing and the freedom from intrusive questions it afforded her.

During a slow song, Kat took a break to get a drink and check in with some of her high school friends that she’d been chatting with earlier. Coming back to her table, though, she frowned, noticing some sort of argument going on between her friend Lucy and one of the bridesmaids. A bridesmaid that was holding, Kat was startled to notice, Kat’s phone and flashed her a guilty look as Kat came within earshot of their conversation.

“Do you honestly think she just has his number stored in her phone under his actual name? So any fool like you could steal it? Give me a break,” Lucy scoffed, then reached out her hand. “And give me her phone, ya creeper.”

Kat was thankful she didn’t have to tell the snooping girl the real truth, that she actually didn’t even have Niall’s number. She hadn’t needed it when they were seeing each other every day and she certainly didn’t need it now to keep up with each other when they were apart as she was certain she hadn’t crossed his mind the entire time. But that wouldn’t do for any of these people to think. Thank goodness for Lucy’s quick, albeit misguided, reply.

One thing was for sure, though: Niall had been right, apparently she really did need to password protect her phone. 

Kat accepted the apologies from the rightfully embarrassed girl (who promised she wasn't going to actually do anything with Niall’s phone number, she'd just wanted to see it, which, yeah, sure, whatever) and thanked Lucy for looking out for her. Shortly after, she talked her parents into making their escape, not that they required much convincing, it already being past their 10 o’clock bedtime. She’d had a decent time overall though and if nothing else, at least it would all make for a good story. 

*

Kat’s dramatic retelling of the evening had Becca in stitches the next day when she’d made her way home from her parents after celebrating Father’s Day with her dad by having brunch and playing a round of golf, just the two of them. 

“How was the cake though?” Becca asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“It was good, so there was that.”

“Speaking of cake, what are we doing for your birthday? I’m pumped you’re going to be home, I wasn’t sure you would be!”

“Me either! But yeah, I’m so so glad I will be. Nothing too big, maybe just dinner and drinks?”

“Sounds perfect. Would you want to try--” Becca cut off her question when she heard the loud ringing of Kat’s phone, which she’d left in her purse by the front door. Holding up a finger, Kat ran off to take the call.

She returned a couple of minutes later, with decidedly less pep in her step. “Spoke too soon, Becs. That was Marnie, I’ve gotta go meet up with Niall again in five days.”

“But your birthday!” Becca protested.

“Guess I’ll be spending it with him. Yay,” Kat said in a monotone voice. “But, and this is a pretty big but, I get to go to Paris! So that’s pretty damn cool.”

“Yeah, that will be awesome. Maybe we can celebrate your day a bit early then?”

“I’d rather not, honestly. I mean, you and I can go out to dinner and you’re of course welcome to buy me a very expensive gift,” she teased, “but I’d rather not celebrate with anyone else really. I’m just not feeling it this year.”

“I’m sorry, Kat.”

“It really isn’t as bad as all that, I don’t mean to sound all dramatic. And maybe I can actually force Basil to take me sightseeing in London for my b-day, as it sounds like we’ll be back there on the actual day. I’m not above a little guilt tripping if it gets me to Buckingham Palace.”

*

In the days before she had to leave to meet Niall in Paris, Kat tried to squeeze in a little more normalcy before she got caught up again in the tour and traveling. When she’d gotten home initially, thinking she’d be back for several weeks, she'd let her boss at Risky's, the sports bar she’d waitressed at previously, know that she was around and able to pick up shifts he needed any extra help. He had only scheduled her for one day so far when she called to let him know that she wouldn’t be around as long as she’d thought, but she didn’t want to annoy him further by not doing it, so she found herself waitressing in a mostly empty restaurant on a Monday night a couple of days before she was set to leave.

Kat heaved an internal sigh when she saw a table full of people that she’d went to college with at one of her tables, people that were not at all her friends but that she knew simply because her school had been so small. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. Maybe they wouldn’t know about Niall. Maybe … 

“Why are you working? And here, of all places? Don't you have a millionaire boyfriend?” one of the girls asked immediately upon her arrival at the table.

She bit her tongue, knowing she couldn't tell them off since she was on the clock and they were customers. "Who I'm dating has no effect on my bank account so, yeah, I do still need to work. Do you know what you'd like or do you need a few more minutes?"

They’d eventually managed to put in their orders and Kat had done the bare minimum to take care of them so she wasn’t really all that surprised when they totally stiffed her for a tip, although whether it was due to her shitty service or the fact that they believed that her rich boyfriend was giving her money, Kat wasn’t sure. 

It didn’t really matter either, it wasn’t like she was counting on some huge amount of money from just working one night for a few hours. But they’d made the night fairly miserable for her, as every time she’d looked over at their table, she caught them staring at her. And that had been before they filled the juke box -- one of those fancy digital ones -- with One Direction songs, laughing and trying to get a reaction out of her. She’d tried not to give them what they wanted, pasting on a fake smile and going about her business. Kat had heaved a huge sigh of relief when they’d finally left though.

Her experiences at both the wedding and at work had left her feeling like she didn’t fit in anywhere anymore -- she certainly wasn’t comfortable when she was with Niall and the band, but now she wasn’t comfortable at home either. More and more evidence towards Kat thinking that she never should have taken this stupid job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: “Best Song Ever” by One Direction
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you ever have a question or any suggestions!
> 
> If you like the story, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry) on Tumblr, thanks!


	16. Chapter 16

After she’d touched down in Paris, Kat was driven straight to the stadium One Direction was playing at that night, so she had to lug her stuff into the arena rather than getting to go back to the hotel to freshen up. Kat supposed that’s what you got when you were flown in in a huge rush as damage control, all because your pop star boyfriend had slept with another pop star’s girlfriend and the second pop star had written a song about it. 

Pretty standard business, really.

Kat felt roughly like shit warmed over after her 10 hour flight, particularly as she still hadn’t managed to learn how to get real sleep on flights. She really needed to get that figured out, like now. 

Once she was granted access to the backstage area, Kat saw a number of crew members she recognized, but the first person she really knew that she ran across was Louis. He laughed when he saw her. “Guess Nialler really fucked up, eh? Gotta fly in the beard.”

Kat had no idea how to respond to that. Luckily, Louis didn’t seem to expect anything from her, laughing again and shaking his head before he came over and gave her a quick hug, taking her carry on bag from her and telling her he’d help her find Niall.

Not surprisingly at all, they found him in the dining area, hanging out with the musical band. “Look who I found for you, Neil, your loving girlfriend, here all the way from the States!” Lou called out.

As she was watching him closely, Kat could tell the minute Niall’s head whipped around that he’d had no idea she was coming. Which was awesome. Or not.

After the initial shock had passed, he did a decent job of not looking like he wanted to kill her or anything, quickly getting up and coming over to them. “Thanks for collecting her for me, Lou. Hey Kat.” Niall pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, Louis wasting no time in passing over her bag to him and darting off again. 

“So you’re back again. That was fast.” He tipped his head back to the right. “C’mon, you can put this stuff in my dressing room”

After waving hello to Josh, Dan, and the others, Kat followed him down the hall. “Yeah, it was. Ten whole days at home, woo hoo.”

Figuring Niall knew exactly why she’d been called back so quickly, in the relative safety of Niall’s dressing room, Kat couldn’t help but ask, “So is it true? Is Ed’s song about you?”

“I dunno,” he said with a shrug, leaning up against the counter.

Kat folded her arms over her chest, staring at him. There was no way she was letting him get off that easily. “Well, did you sleep with Ellie while her and Ed were dating? While she was staying at the same hotel as Ed?”

“Uh, yeah.” He looked slightly chagrined, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Yes?” Kat asked incredulously. She hadn’t really believed it, there were always so many stupid rumours about the band that didn’t turn out to be true. 

“Look, I didn’t know they were datin’ or hookin’ up or whatever they were doin’. She didn’t say anythin’ to me about it and neither had Ed. So, yeah, it happened but it wasn’t done maliciously on my part. And me an’ Ed are cool, he knows that. We talked afterwards, and plenty of times since.”

“Kind of shitty for Ellie to do, wasn’t it?”

Niall shrugged. “‘Spose. Don’t really know what was going on with the two of ‘em though, so not my place to judge.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

“Sorry that me hookin’ up with someone a long time ago cut short your time at home. Couldn’t have really foreseen that though.”

“No, I suppose you couldn’t have. No worries. Got me a trip to Paris, at least, huh? Not that I’ll probably get to see any of it, if things are like they usually are. Do you ever actually get to do any sightseeing, or do you not even want to?”

“I’d like to but we don’t usually even attempt it, it’s not really worth the hassle.”

Apropos of nothing, Kat blurted out, “Our ship name is ‘Kiall’ did you know that?” Kat had done some further internet research on Niall and the band when she was home, stumbling onto Tumblr where she’d been shocked to find all sorts of pictures and posts about the two of them. Most were fairly nice but there seemed to be a lot of speculation regarding whether or not their relationship was real. 

“No, but makes sense, ‘spose.”

“Why do I only get one letter and you get the rest? That’s bullshit.”

He shrugged. “Dunno. Guess that’s the way they always are, aren’t they? Like Larry and Ziam. Or Ziall or …”

“Lilo’s democratic, at least. Lirry’s pretty good too. Even Niam, since you guys both have the ia in your names.”

“I’m sorry you’re gettin’ screwed by our ship name, Kat, I really am. It’s a serious tragedy,” Niall said dryly.

“Oh fuck off.” Kat was silent for a moment, but she had more she wanted to talk to him about so she wasn’t about to let his lack of enthusiasm get in the way of that. “There’s an update account, I think they call it, dedicated to our relationship. That’s a real thing that’s happening.”

“Hm.”

Kat continued on, unbothered by Niall’s lack of interest. “But there are lots of people out there that think we’re fake, I discovered.” Kat knew she sounded offended but she couldn’t seem to help it.

“We are fake,” Niall supplied, unhelpfully.

“But they’re not supposed to realize that! I mean, I thought we were doing a pretty good job.”

“I’m pretty certain that there’s a large percentage of our fan base that always assumes any relationship we have isn’t real, that it’s for PR. And they’ve almost always been right so …”

“I thought maybe we’d be the exception, I thought we could pull this off. Guess I was wrong.”

“I’m sure the general public believes it, that’s all that matters.”

“The general public are the same idiots that believe that Harry sleeps with every girl he meets.”

Niall chuckled. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Do you ever go on Tumblr?” Kat asked curiously. 

“Have before but I don’t do it regularly or anythin’. Just usually stick to Twitter or Instagram.”

“There are a lot of people on there that really, uh, _like_ you. And say what they’d like to do to you, or have you do to them, in very explicit detail.” Kat had been shocked to read a lot of the things. She wasn’t a prude by any means but the stuff had made her blush. As well as give her a lot of mental images that she was having a hard time erasing, things that were suddenly rushing back to her now that she was standing in front of him again. She tried to banish them from her mind with some minor success.

“Seen some of that. People are pretty creative.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” She hesitated. “Is it weird, seeing that kind of stuff written about yourself?”

“Yeah, but I can’t really be upset about it or anythin’ as I went lookin’ for it, ya know? ‘S not like someone’s shovin’ it me face, I’d never see it if I didn’t go lookin’ at fans’ blogs so it’s on me. And they don’t mean any harm, ‘s not like they really know me, I’m just some celebrity to them, not a real person. ‘M sure I had all sorts of dirty thoughts about celebrities before I was famous meself, if I’d have had a blog God knows what I’d written about ‘em.”

“That’s a very pragmatic way to think about it, I’m impressed.”

“Not really sure what ‘pragmatic’ means so I’m just goin’ to assume it’s a compliment.” Niall wasn’t fooling her, he was much smarter than he let on. “I better get out there, got meet and greets comin’ up.”

And then he was gone, leaving Kat to try to repair the damage a day’s worth of travel had taken on her face, her clothes, her body. Her soul. Emphasis on _try_. She’d seen Eleanor in her brief trip around the backstage area, which, ugh, but she’d seen Lottie as well so the night shouldn’t be too bad. Her relatively pleasant conversation with Niall gave her a slightly more optimistic outlook on things, despite her exhaustion, although she was sure he’d say or do something to her soon enough for that to change.

Afterall, she was an optimist, not an idiot.

*

“Nialler, ya gonna go out with me tonight?” Liam asked as they were waiting for the vehicles to take them back to the hotel to arrive, an hour or so after the show that night.

“Nah, I’m a bit knackered, just going to get to bed early, I think.” Kat threw him a surprised look. She wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t just tell them his knee was hurting, plus it was hard to imagine how they didn’t notice how much he was favoring it during the show. 

In the pause that followed Niall turning them down, Kat looked down at her phone intensely, desperate to not meet Liam’s eyes, fearing --

“What about you Kat, want to hit the town? We’ll take good care of you, I promise.” Ah, there it was, the pity invite, just what she’d been hoping to avoid. 

“I appreciate the offer but I’m going to pass as well. I’m beat, what with the international flight today, plus it probably wouldn’t look that great if I got caught out with you boys without my beloved boyfriend. Wouldn’t want to start any cheating rumors, would we?”

Half hour after they got home, after she’d heard everyone who was going out leave the floor, Kat knocked quietly on Niall’s door, just in case he really had gone right to bed after getting to his room.

“Just a minute.” She heard Niall’s voice, muffled through the thick door. 

“Oh, it’s you,” he said, once he’d opened the door a crack.

“Good to see you too, Niall. Listen, I brought you an ice pack, on the off chance you didn’t have one of your own. And some anti-inflammatories.”

“Why?” He opened the door wider, leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded across his bare chest.

“Because I can tell your knee’s bothering you, dork. I have a heating pad too if that works better, I wasn’t sure which way you go as I’ve never had knee surgery myself.”

“Why do ya have an ice pack and a heatin’ pad with ya? Thought ya were a teacher, not a nurse.”

“Don't overwhelm me with your vast knowledge about me, Horan, I might swoon,” Kat said sarcastically. “To answer your question, I broke my foot junior year of college playing intramural basketball. Made it all the way through junior high and high school sports career, even one year of college track, injury free, only to hurt myself during literally my first co-ed four-on-four game. BS. Anyway, sometimes when it’s rainy, my foot twinges where I broke it, so I came prepared. Thus the ice pack. And the heating pad’s for period cramps.”

Niall stood there staring at her, no doubt unsure how to process that barrage of information.

“So … if you don’t mind letting me in, I can set you up and be on my way. Cool?”

“Em, right. C’mon in.”

Back in his room, which she noted again was much larger than her own space, not that she was complaining in the slightest, Kat saw that he’d attempted to fashion an ice pack out of loose ice and a hand towel from the bathroom.

“Thank God you have me, this is some seriously amateur bullshit you’ve got going here.”

“Well, it’s not that bad so I wasn’t going to go to all that much effort …” He shrugged. 

“Whatever, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, probably on the bed like you were, I’ll go get rid of this and grab a dry towel to put between the ice pack and your skin.”

When Kat came back into his room from the bathroom, he was lounged back against the headboard, propped up by several pillows. She frowned when she saw he still had his track pants on.

“Are you sure you want to leave those on?” she said, gesturing towards his legs. “Would probably be better to just have your knee out and about. If you can’t do it yourself, I could help --”

“I can take off me own trackies, thank you very much. ‘M not an invalid,” Niall said, clearly offended by her offer.

“I wasn’t suggesting you were, just trying to be helpful.” They stared at each other for another moment, then Kat realized what he was waiting for. “Right, I’ll just turn around.”

She heard some rustling, then Niall’s voice as he asked, “M not going to shock ya if I’ve just got me pants on, will I? Don’t want to bother gettin’ shorts on if I don’t have to.”

“I thought the whole point of this was for you to take OFF your pants, what were you even …” she started replying as she turned back around. Niall was laying back on the bed in just his boxer briefs. Which were black and quite snug, she couldn’t help but notice. Not that she was checking him out, it, or, um, he rather, was just right there. After a pause, Kat said, her voice sounding very strange to her own ears, “Oh, you mean ‘pants’ as in underwear. Because people here call underwear pants. That’s not confusing at all. Right.”

“Are ya alright there, Kat? Is the sight of me bare legs too much for ya? I can get a shirt, even out the amount of skin showin’ again.”

His sarcasm was just what she needed to snap her out of her trance. “It’s all that chest hair, it’s got me mesmerized. But I should be able to push through so you’re fine.”

“Hey, no mocking me chest hair. I’m quite proud of this little patch I’ve finally got going. Very manly.” He rubbed his upper chest protectively, as though she was going to somehow strip it away from him.

“You’re a regular Tom Selleck there,” she joked as she sat down on the bed next to his knee.

“That’s quite the reference.”

“My mom’s a huge Magnum PI fan. She’s always maintained there are two men she’d leave my dad for: Tom Selleck and Michael Jordan.” She looked for moment at the still somewhat angry looking scar that ran down his left knee, having to restrain herself from tracing it with her finger, before laying the hand towel she’d grabbed in his bathroom over it. She laid the ice pack on the top, balancing it over his knee cap carefully.

“Your mom’s got diverse taste, I’m impressed.”

“She does. Needless to say, though, I think my dad’s safe.” She adjusted the ice pack again, then asked, “Is that good? Or does it hurt somewhere else, like more in the back or…?”

“Nope, that’s perfect.”

She sat there smiling at him for a minute, then realizing what she was doing, she slapped her knees and stood up. “Well, I’ll just leave you to it. You can just return the pack tomorrow or whenever.”

“Sure, sounds good. And, uh, thanks.”

“No problem.” Kat strolled out of his room, her good deed done for the night.

*

After the final show in Paris the next day, Marnie booked Kat and Niall on a commercial flight that night back to London, presumably to up their visibility. Although clearly nothing held a candle to flying private, Kat was fairly pumped because traveling with Niall meant she got to fly first class, something she had never done before. They were escorted through the airport quickly and painlessly, the airport staff keeping fans away, and waited in style for their flight to be called in the first class lounge. 

As she was enjoying a soda and a snack, Kat sent a text to Marnie, _Hey, going golfing with N tomorrow and I don’t have time to shop, could you have something appropriate sent to his house? Pretty sure you know my sizes. :)_ Kat had been somewhat surprised when he’d asked her, although she figured he probably was being forced. She didn’t really care, a day out golfing sounded like fun. 

Once they boarded, Kat gave Niall the window seat so he could be just a bit removed from the rest of the passengers walking by to get to their seats. He kept himself occupied on his phone to avoid prying eyes and before Kat knew it, they were in the air. It was a blissfully short flight, which Kat was grateful for as she was completely exhausted. She’d managed to sneak in a couple of hours of sightseeing that day, dragging Lottie and Basil out with her to see a few of the Paris landmarks. It had been amazing and Kat was so glad she had done it, but it had made her all that much more tired. Kat couldn’t wait to get to Niall’s; she planned on sleeping until at least noon the next day. Thankfully their tee time wasn’t until mid-afternoon.

She grabbed her headphones out of her bag, popping one earbud in as she scrolled to her music, putting it on shuffle. 

“What are ya listenin’ to?” Niall asked, glancing over at her. He looked just about as tired as she felt. Although she saw the appeal in just getting home to sleep in one’s own bed, she wasn’t super impressed by the whole flying immediately after a concert thing that One Direction did sometimes. 

“Coldplay. Old stuff.” She turned her phone towards him so he could see the album art and song information title for the song that was playing.

“‘Til Kingdom Come.’” he read off her phone’s screen. “Not sure I remember that one?”

“Oh, it’s the best. One of my favorite songs of all time.” She pulled out one of her ear buds, handing it to him. “Here.” She knew it probably made more sense for her to take both out so he could listen to the song in stereo but she wanted to be able to hear it herself so she knew what parts of the song he was reacting to.

He slid the earbud in as she restarted the song. “Don’t we look proper coupley?” he whispered, then grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. 

Kat smiled at him, then down at their hands. She understood that it made sense to appear like a couple as anyone could walk by and see them on the plane but it still felt intimate. Even more so when Chris Martin’s words came singing sweetly into her right ear:

 _Steal my heart and hold my tongue._  
_I feel my time, my time has come._  
_Let me in, unlock the door._  
_I've never felt this way before._

Niall drummed the beat on his leg with his free hand, clearly enjoying the music.

When it was over, he pulled out the earbud. “That’s an amazin’ song. Can’t say for certain I’ve heard it before but it’s beautiful. Like the guitars on it a lot too.”

“When you listen to a song, are you trying to figure out how to play it, like what the chords are and stuff?”

“Sometimes. Not always though, I can just enjoy music if I try.”

“That’s good. Nice that you can compartmentalize it a bit,” she said, then tried (and failed) to smother back a yawn.

“Ya must be beat, lotta travelin’ for a couple of days. You can nap if you’d like, I’ll make sure to wake ya up when we land.”

“I’m not great at sleeping on planes. Or in cars. Not a particularly good napper, either. Takes me too long to shut my brain off, so for a short flight like this, I don’t think it’d be worth it. I might pass out in the car ride home, though. Are we getting a car or are you driving?”

“Car. I’m too knackered to drive.” 

Kat yawned again.

“Here, lay your head on my shoulder. At least give it a try, you might surprise yourself.” Niall patted his upper arm.

Her exhaustion outweighing her feelings of awkwardness, Kat did as instructed, nuzzling her head in until she found a comfortable spot. It felt like she had just settled in when suddenly Niall was softly shaking her awake. Kat opened her eyes to find herself covered with a blanket, which Niall must have requested and spread over her as she slept. Her hand was also pressed under his arm, squished between his bicep and ribcage, and she extracted it as smoothly as she possibly could. 

“Not a good napper, huh?” Niall asked, his voice somewhat gravely. Maybe he’d fallen asleep as well. 

“Guess if I’m tired enough I can sleep anywhere.” Kat stretched. “Thanks for being my pillow.”

Niall grunted, not looking at her. Apparently he’d woken up in a crap mood. Awesome. Kat reminded herself that she just needed to get to the car, then she could go back to sleep. Thirty minutes, tops.

Niall had Kat exit the plane first, following close behind. He didn’t say a word to her and his grumpiness was palpable, which made Kat feel confused but tense as to how it might manifest. _Half an hour, half an hour_ , Kat chanted to herself, knowing she just had to make it 30 minutes and they could both go back to sleep and ignore each other in peace. 

But a half hour is a fair amount of time for something to go wrong, even in a mostly empty and quiet middle-of-the-night airport concourse. As such, as they were trudging towards their awaiting ride home, both of them ignoring the small group of fans that were gathered, Niall's hand, which had been resting on the small of her back, firmly and quite deliberately slid to her butt. 

Even as tired as she felt, Kat was instantly furious at his touch but tried to remain outwardly calm as there were people around that would notice their actions. She slid her own hand that was between them around to her back, grabbing his hand with hers and pulling it between their bodies, linking their hands together. Once it looked as though they were just casually holding hands, Kat slowly began exerting pressure on his fingers until he tried to pull his hand away.

She didn't let him get away so easily. Keeping her facial expression composed, she hissed at him, “I don’t know what the hell is going on with you right now, but you don't get to touch me like that. Despite our arrangement, you don't own me and that's not fucking okay. Not at all.”

She expected more attitude from him. Instead, he immediately deflated. “Shit, you're right, I'm sorry. I was bein’ a dick, I know that's not okay. I'm really fuckin’ sorry, Kat.”

“Whatever, don't do it again.”

Niall remained silent by her side. She glanced over at him and could tell he was upset. She shook his hand, raising her eyebrows in an unspoken question when he finally looked over at her.

“I can't believe I fuckin’ did that, I don't even know what the fuck came over me. I know it's not okay for me to touch ya like that, ya don't deserve that, nobody does. I don't know who I become around you sometimes.”

Kat was now in the bizarre position of wanting to console him when she'd been the one wronged. He looked completely disgusted by himself.

Kat simply didn’t have the energy to deal with the situation at that moment. She allowed him to lead her to the waiting car in complete silence and fell asleep almost before the driver had pulled out of the pick up lane. She’d deal with it another time. Just before she completely went under, Kat had the realization that as it was well after midnight, it was now her birthday. 

_Happy fucking birthday to me_ , she thought before she lost consciousness.

*

Niall in his golf clothes was a sight to behold. Not many people could pull off the fully tucked in look, but he was one of them that could. And did. Kat didn't remember ever being fascinated or particularly attracted to a man’s midsection before but something about Niall’s flat stomach and trim waist really did it for her. And his polo and white pants combo really accentuated how broad his shoulders were and how slim his waist was. Not that she needed any more reasons to be attracted to him. 

The golf course Niall had taken them to was gorgeous and despite their argument the night before (which neither of them had brought up, thankfully), Kat was really looking forward to spending the day outside. A good night’s sleep made everything seem better, although being well rested didn’t mean she wasn’t glad that Niall rented them a golf cart (or a “buggy” as they adorably called it).

As they approached the first hole in their cart, Niall asked her, “Do ya know how to play? I can give you a few pointers if ya don’t.”

“Appreciate it, but, yeah, I’ve played before.” Kat tried not to smirk at him, as it really was nice of him to offer to teach her. 

To Niall’s credit, it didn’t take more than a couple of shots for him to recognize that Kat more than knew what she was doing.

“I see how it is. You’re good, aren’t ya?” he asked, his eyes narrowed.

“I’m not too bad,” Kat said, striving for casual, as she slid her iron back into her bag after a particularly beautiful cut shot that put her on the green. “I’ve taken lessons since I was little and my college roommate was on the golf team, so we played together a lot. Perhaps, just perhaps, they may have tried to recruit me, but I wasn’t interested.”

“Why didn’t ya mention that earlier?”

“I’m a show rather than tell sorta gal.”

“Good to know,” Niall replied dryly, his eyebrows raised. It seemed innuendo-filled to Kat but she wasn’t sure if she was making that up.

Kat was so focused on showing off for Niall that it took her until three holes in to notice something about him.

“You're left handed but you golf right handed.”

He nodded. “I play guitar right handed too.”

“Seriously? How have I not noticed that?”

“For both, it's just because I learned on what was available -- me Dad's old clubs and me brother's guitar. Had to work with what I had access to.”

“I can't even imagine that but I suppose if it's all you've ever known.” Kat knew that were ambidextrous people out there but she didn’t know any in real life, not that that was what Niall was as he apparently only used his right hand for a couple of key activities. Which made her wonder … 

“What hand do you use to…” Kat trailed off, mortified by what she had almost asked him.

But of course Niall knew what she was going to say and burst into laughter. “Typically left but I’ve been known to mix it up now and then, to keep it interestin’.” He winked at her, laughing again at her red face.

By the fifth hole (Kat was in the lead by a few strokes), Kat had had enough. “Stop doing that, seriously. Please.”

“What?”

“That little ass wiggle. I’m well aware your butt looks good in those pants. I have eyes.”

“Thank you for the compliment. But I wasn’t doing anythin’ to get ya to look at my arse.”

“Yes, you were, and yes, it’s very distracting. It’s like you know you can’t beat me fair and square so you’re preemptively cheating. And I just want you to know: I am aware.”

“Kat, God’s honest truth, I do the ‘little ass wiggle’ as ya call it to loosen me hips, I have a tendency to tighten up but shakin’ my hips out helps me swing. Golf pro taught me that.”

“Oh,” Kat said quietly, abashed. 

“That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself? After claimin’ I’m tryin’ to cheat by using my fantastic body to my advantage?”

“Whoa whoa whoa. I simply said your butt looks good right now. For all I know, it’s just those pants, they may have some sort of padding or something, I don’t know. I can say that I’ve not particularly noticed your ass previously so I’m not convinced there’s not some sort of magic at work here. And I didn’t say a thing about the rest of your body, so you made a serious leap there.”

Her phone dinged again and she finally pulled it out to check, in case it was anything that needed her attention. The Twitterverse must have clued into the fact that it was her birthday as she’d gotten so many birthday wishes and DMs from her One Direction fan followers. It was kind of nice, in an impersonal sort of way. 

“Someone’s popular,” Niall said, seeming annoyed by her attention to her phone. 

“Always,” Kat replied, playing it off to lighten the mood. They’d been having such a good day, she didn’t want it to be ruined by something as stupid as Twitter notifications. When Niall wasn’t looking, she turned her phone to silent so it wouldn’t alert her again.

Niall’s good humor returned after he hit an amazing drive on the final hole, but it wasn’t enough to allow him to sneak by Kat, who finished with two strokes less than he did. He was a surprisingly gracious loser though, he grumbled a bit about it but in a mostly good natured way. 

Once they’d turned in their cart and Kat’s rented clubs, they met up with their driver who warned them that there were quite a few fans waiting outside. Basil hadn’t accompanied them so it would be them against the masses but Kat wasn’t too concerned as it wasn’t a far walk at all.

“Ready for this? I’m not going to do pictures or sign anything, so it should be quick.”

“Sure, lead on.”

The minute they stepped out, it was all squeals and yelling. It wasn’t really a crush of people though, as they were primarily younger fans and were mostly just taking pictures and holding their hands out for Niall to touch as they walked by. Most of them were just yelling Niall’s name like usual, but there was a bit of a difference in that her name was being called out a lot as well.

“Happy birthday, Kat!”

“Happy birthday!”

“What did you get her, Niall?”

Kat could feel Niall’s grip on her hand momentarily tighten, but he otherwise gave no outward appearance of being phased by the questions they were getting. Once they were safely in the car, Niall’s clubs safely tucked into the trunk, and the driver was pulling away, he turned to her.

“It’s your birthday?” he asked accusingly.

“Yes.” Kat refused to look at him, she could tell he was seething and she wanted no part of it.

“Ya could’ve said somethin’.”

“Yes, I suppose I could have,” she said coolly, looking out the window.

“Ya knew this would happen, that I’d look like a dick for not knowin’.”

She turned to face him. “I didn’t, actually. Jesus, Niall, not everything is about you. I’m sorry that it didn’t cross my mind that you’d find out, this is my first birthday being whatever it is I am now -- famous by proximity maybe? That’s not quite right but whatever. So, yeah, I didn’t think about people figuring out my birthday from my real friends posting about it on Twitter or Instagram or whatever. It’s shitty enough that I’m away from everybody I know and love on my birthday, so I’m super sorry if this had a negative impact on you in any way, that was never my intention.”

Niall paused for a moment, then said, “I’ve gotta say, and I mean this as a compliment, but ya mostly seem like the nicest person ever but when ya decide to get angry, ya go full nuclear. I really respect that.”

“Well, it’s a blessing and a curse, to be honest.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, giving them both time to cool off.

“Listen, I’m sorry for bein’ angry at ya.”

“Whatever. It’s fine,” she said, although clearly she didn’t mean it.

A bit later, Niall tried again. “So, you’re 22 now? Look at me with my super old girlfriend.”

“Dating a woman two years older is nothing in this band and you know it. Plus, you’ll be 21 yourself before much longer.”

“Ya know my birthday, fantastic,” he said, his tone implying it was anything but.

“In your defense, it’s not like you can just google me and it comes up, like with you.”

“Still, could’ve asked.”

“I guess. Honestly though, I thought today was going to suck, being so far away from my friends and family -- I've never been away from home on my birthday. But I had fun. Even if you didn't know it was my birthday, you were great to hang out with. Today was the best day I've had in a long time.”

“I know you're trying to be nice but you're actually makin’ me feel worse, not better. By most people’s standards, this wasn’t much of a birthday at all.”

“I’ve never been the type of person to go all out for my birthday, partly because I have a summer birthday and it seems like people were never around for it. Last year was the first time in a long time that I had a big event and even that was just dinner and a bar crawl.”

“21’s the big birthday for you lot, I forget that.”

“Yeah, you guys have been drinking legally forever by the time you’re 21. But it’s a big deal to us, you pretty much drink shots until you vomit, such a beautiful tradition.”

“Sounds like it.” He chuckled and pulled out his phone, texting someone. 

They continued to banter a bit back and forth, although Niall was on his phone roughly the entire time it took them to drive back. Kat got a number of texts herself though so she didn’t mind. Plus, it wasn't like he was ignoring her or anything, he was talking to her on and off while he was messing around on his phone.

After she’d showered and was comfortably set up for the evening in her pajamas, Kat heard a quiet knock on her door. She pulled open the door to find Niall standing there, also looking (and smelling) fresh from the shower.

“Here, Kat, this is for you.” He handed her a card and she stepped out in the hall to take it from him without thinking. 

Kat was mortified. “Oh my God, you didn’t have to get me anything, why would you do that? No no no, take it back.” She held it out to him as though it were burning her skin. 

Niall gave her a look. “Kat, I really can’t take it back. It’s a fuckin’ card, I already signed it.”

She blinked. “Right. Um, thanks?”

“Ya gonna open it?”

“Sure.” She carefully opened the envelope, which she knew he must have just signed in the twenty minutes they’d been apart. She wondered who’d gotten the unlucky task of having to run and buy her a birthday card. Basil, maybe? She’d have to thank him next time she saw him.

When she opened the card, a folded piece of paper fell out, which she grabbed before it could hit the ground. Kat read the very generic, but very nice, happy birthday greeting on the inside of the card, signed simply ‘Niall.’ Not that she expected x’s and o’s but maybe a ‘best’ or something. Whatever, the card was a really nice gesture that he didn’t have to make. 

She smiled up at him. “Thanks, that’s really sweet.” He nodded at the paper, so she unfolded it under his watchful gaze. It was a printout for a Coldplay concert on July 1st in London. 

“What?” she asked, confused. It was one thing to round up a card but to get her concert tickets in the time that it took them to get back from the golf course was pretty impressive. 

Niall looked a little nervous, biting at his nails. “Thought we could go together. You’re a fan, right? Ya played me that song of theirs yesterday so I thought maybe you’d like to see ‘em live? I haven’t gotten a chance to before but yeah …Although, I mean, I guess ya don’t have to take me though, if you’d rather not? I know it’s kind of weak to get ya tickets to somethin’ and tell ya that ya have to take me so maybe you could take Gems or have another friend come or …” he trailed off.

Kat threw her arms around him. “Of course I’ll take you, ya goof. Thank you so much, this is an amazing present. You really, REALLY didn’t have to get me anything but this is perfect. Thank you so much.” She stepped back from him, slightly embarrassed about her show of emotion. Not wanting to make eye contact with him, she stared down at the card harder than was necessary, feeling a bit teary about the whole thing. 

Her phone chirped at her back in her room, saving her. “I should probably check that, my parents were maybe going to try to FaceTime if they could.” As Niall walked into the living room, Kat went and grabbed her phone, seeing it was an incoming text from a number she didn’t recognize. She unlocked her phone and read it, her eyes widening dramatically as she got to the end. There was an attached video as well, but she ran out to Niall before she watched it. He was just settling in on the couch, his legs propped up on the coffee table as he channel surfed. 

“Niall, did you somehow get Ed Sheeran to text me happy birthday? And send me a video?” she asked, completely incredulous.

He smiled. “Yeah, you’d said you were a big fan a while back. Thought about getting Mayer to do it, but I know Ed a lot better.”

“But … how?”

“Y’mean how’d I get your number? Bas gave it to me, hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, anytime you want to give my number to Ed Sheeran, that’s completely fine,” Kat joked, thinking that it was fairly hilarious that she now apparently had Ed Sheeran’s cell phone number but not her boyfriend’s. “Do you think it’s okay if I text him back a thank you or would that be weird?”

“No, pretty sure that’d be fine.”

Kat kept staring at her phone, having a hard time believing this was really happening. In a daze, she walked back towards her room, excited to watch the video and already mentally going over her “thank you” text to him. 

She’d almost gotten through the door before she remembered she hadn’t actually even thanked Niall for setting it all up. “Niall, thank you so much. I mean, the tickets were amazing but this … this is insane. So, yeah, thanks.”

He looked over at her, giving her a half smile. “You’re welcome. Happy birthday, Kat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: “Insensitive” by Jann Arden
> 
> Come say hey on [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you'd like!
> 
> Also, if you like the story, feel free to share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry) on Tumblr, thanks!
> 
> Thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the comments and kudos, it helps more than you know!

_I am a rock, I am an iiiiislaand!_

It wasn't really a song you danced to, per se, but Kat attempted to shimmy along anyway, belting out the words. It looked like this was going to need to be her theme song for the next year so she was going to own it. They were somewhere in Europe for another couple concerts and Kat was feeling very alone but was trying to embrace it. The song, with its lyrics about not needing or caring about anyone, seemed very fitting for her unconventional solo dance party. 

There was a knock on the door when Kat was halfway through the second verse. Kat quickly turned down the volume on her Bluetooth speaker and hustled over to the door, hoping it was room service with her lunch.

Breathless, she pulled it open. Of course, it was Niall. “Hey,” she said.

He just stood there, smirking at her. He couldn't have heard her, could he have? Surely the walls were thicker than that in a nice hotel like the one they were staying in.

Apparently the walls were not, in fact, particularly thick. “Were you … were you just blastin’ Simon and Garfunkel?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Kat replied, leaning against the heavy door, choosing to try to brazen it out.

“Kat, my room's right next to yours. And I'm quite familiar with that song. And I can actually still hear it right now.”

“Okay, maybe I was. I'll turn it down, I'm sorry if I bothered you.”

“Interestin’ choice of songs.”

“Is that all?” Kat said, in no mood for his bullshit.

Niall’s eyebrows rose and he smirked. “Just keep it down a bit, ‘s all I’m askin’.”

After he’d turned away from her, Kat flipped him (well, his back) off, feeling the slightest bit better for her act of defiance. 

Steeped with anger (how _dare_ he tell her to be quiet, when over the time she’d been traveling and/or living with him, she’d heard him watching a variety of sports at top volume and said nothing!? never mind the women and how loud they were!!), Kat slammed the door and began furiously making a playlist. Figuring titling it “Fuck U, Niall J. Horan” wasn’t a great idea on the off chance anyone might actually see it, she instead shortened that down a bit to FUN (so if anyone casually looked at it, it would look like it was a party mix or something). 

She searched through her library for appropriate songs to put on the mix. “Really Don’t Care” by Demi Lovato was going on there, for sure, maybe a little “Stronger” -- both Britney AND Kelly Clarkson’s versions. And Kanye's, for that matter. “Bulletproof” and “Titanium” got added as well. Kat smiled, having way more fun with this than she should have been. If little things like this made her life even slightly better, Kat was all about it.

*

There weren’t any band members’ friends or family at the concert that night, their second show in Amsterdam, so Kat kind of drifted around near the catwalk, chatting with the boys’ security team members but mostly just watching the show, swaying and singing along to her heart’s content. Fans would call out her name from time to time and she’d wave but mostly she just tried to block everything out and enjoy the concert. 

During the encore, at the end of “You and I” someone threw something at Niall where he stood on the catwalk, not that far from where Kat had staked out her position, and it hit his knee, completely stopping him in his tracks. Kat kept expecting him to signal to someone to help him as he clearly was in a lot of pain but no one seemed to notice and Niall did nothing to alert security or his bandmates as to what happened. 

Kat started walking backstage as quickly as she could, keeping her eye on Niall the entire time. Finally Louis seemed to notice that Niall was hurt but Niall basically waved him off, all the while still exhibiting signs that his knee was killing him. Kat didn’t know what she could do but at the very least, she was going to find Basil and see what he thought. 

“Story of My Life” concluded just as Kat burst into the backstage area, looking around frantically for Basil. She hadn’t noticed him out in front of the stage earlier so she’d assumed he was back there somewhere, but in his absence, she’d take any of the security or crew members.

Before she could actually find anyone though, Niall himself came limping off the stage, a couple of stagehands by his side. Kat rushed over to him immediately. “Oh my God, are you okay?”

Now that he was out of the crowd’s sight, Niall wasn’t trying to hide his pain at all. “Jesus Christ, that fuckin’ hurt.”

“Here, put your arm on me, let me help. Do you want me to get Paul? Or Mark? Or anyone?”

“I just need to sit for a minute.” She helped him over to a chair, squatting down beside him where she got a good look at his knee for the first time,.

“Oh my God, you’re bleeding! What was that thing?” She could see his scar bleeding slightly through the rip in his jeans. She pulled a tissue out of the cross body purse she was wearing and dabbed at it, cleaning it off as best she could.

“I’ve got no clue.” He leaned back in his chair, running his hands through his hair and pulling at it in obvious distress. 

Kat stood back and watched as Niall was swarmed with crew members, one of which was holding the guitar he needed for the next song. After a minute spent talking with them, Niall was up again, pulling the guitar strap over his head and limping back towards the stage, the crew returning to their previous tasks.

Kat held back for a moment, tentative, then chased after him. “Niall, don’t you think you should get some ice or pain relievers or something?”

He sighed. “Nah, it’s fine, concert’s almost done.”

“I don’t think you should go back out there, you’re not okay in the slightest. I know it’s just a few more songs, but you can’t stand on that knee, you’re going to do lasting damage to it. And you just had surgery on it. Niall, seriously --”

He cut her off. “Kat, leave it. You’re not my fuckin’ nurse, and you’re definitely not my fuckin’ girlfriend. I said I’m fine. Just sod off, okay?”

Kat blinked back tears of humiliation and hurt. She knew he was in pain and was likely reacting poorly due to it, but still. No one else had been close enough to have heard what he’d said, so there was some comfort in that. 

But she had heard him. Loud and clear. 

Kat walked away quickly before he could see how his words had affected her, not knowing what to do with herself. Even though there were only three songs left, she couldn’t go back out there and pretend to have a good time. But neither could she hide back there and wait for him to be done, dutifully playing her role as the supportive girlfriend and going back to the hotel with him.

Her options limited, Kat pulled out her phone and googled “cab company Amsterdam,” calling the first one she saw to pick her up outside the arena. Right before she left the backstage area, Kat heard Niall singing his part in “Little White Lies,” and while he was perfectly in tune, as usual, she could hear the pain in his voice. But that wasn’t her problem. 

Not wanting to worry anyone, she texted Basil as she left, telling him that she’d gone back to the hotel and that she’d see him the next day. 

Later that night (or more precisely, very early the next day), Kat was awoken by a loud pounding on her door. Thoughts of not answering it disappeared as she remembered Louis’ policy of always having everyone’s room keys. She didn’t want to risk anyone just barging in on her while she was tucked into her bed.

She cracked open the door to find a clearly inebriated Niall standing there. Or wobbling there, more precisely. “Bas said I needed to apologize to ya.”

Kat stood there silently, waiting. She wondered how Basil knew that Niall had been rude to her, but she supposed he might have inferred it from the fact that she’d all but ran away during the show, something she’d never done. 

“Aren’t ya goin’ to say anythin’?”

She folded her arms over her chest. “I was waiting for you to apologize.”

“Oh, right. Right. ‘M sorry, then.”

“Okay, well, you’ve apologized, you can go pass out now. I’ll tell Basil you did what he’d asked,” Kat said, her tone icy. 

“Jesus, I said I was sorry, why can’t ya ever give me a fuckin’ break? You're so nice to e’rybody else but you're always bustin’ me balls.”

Yeah, worst apology ever. Kat lifted her eyebrows and nodded, pursing her lips. “Thanks for that, Niall, that was lovely. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to go back to sleep.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled.

For the second time in as many days, Kat pushed the door shut on him, leaning back against it and taking deep breaths. She could do this. She could. She was trained to handle a classroom full of first graders for God’s sake, she could handle one bratty 20 year old.

She walked over and face planted back into her bed, too tired to even be upset about the incident all over again. 

*

On the plane way too early the next day, Kat texted Becca, excited when she saw the bubble indicating she was typing back. It was a day earlier there, which Kat had a hard time wrapping her brain around. 

> **Hope you’re still up. On yet another plane, headed back to London. Get to go to Wimbledon today, apparently. That’s tennis, in case you didn’t know.**
> 
>  ****
> 
> ****
> 
> _Excuse you, I’ve seen the fine film of the same name starring Kirsten Dunst, thank you very much. Where are you now?_
> 
> **To be honest with you, I’m not even sure. Swede-way, is that a place? ‘Cause I think that’s where we are.**
> 
> **Kidding, we’re in Amsterdam. Back in London for a couple days, then to Milan. Because I’m fancy.**
> 
> **But man, now I want to watch that movie! Wonder if it’s on Netflix????**
> 
> _Ooh, fancy is right. Not as fancy as Lincoln, but whatevs._
> 
> **Lincoln sounds perfect right now. Had yet another blow out with N last night. Still not sure that killing him isn’t the best option for getting out of this thing. He won’t need a girlfriend if he’s no longer living, right?**
> 
> **Kidding, again. Sorry, my sense of humor has gotten a bit dark lately. Please delete this conversation in case something happens, I’m not about to go down for his murder (don’t worry, I won’t actually murder him).**

****

****

Kat became a bit concerned when Becca didn’t text back for a bit.

> **You still there?**
> 
> _Kat, I'd normally describe you as one of the most even keeled people I know, but this thing’s got you all over the place._
> 
> **I know. I’m trying to keep positive but …**
> 
> _Yeah, I’m sure. Well, try to get some rest on the flight. Private or commercial this time?_
> 
> **Private, baby.**
> 
> _Live it up, fancy pants._

Chuckling a bit, Kat set down her phone and fished through her bag for her Kindle. She heard someone plop down in the seat next to hers and prayed it wasn’t Niall. 

It was Harry, thankfully. “Can I look through your music?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Kat said, unlocking her phone and handing it over as she had nothing to hide on there. Sure, she had some guilty pleasure tunes but even those she wasn’t actually embarrassed about. Besides, he was in a boyband, not exactly in a good position to judge. Glass houses, and all that. 

He browsed quietly for a bit, smiling at a few as Kat watched him.

“You impressed by the huge volume of 1D songs on there? You should be.”

“Hm,” he replied, smiling. He kept scrolling. She had a ton of music on there so she wasn’t surprised it was taking him awhile. She tried to quit focusing on him and turned on her Kindle, intent on reading during the flight.

“Kat, what’s this playlist here? The one titled ‘FUN’?” he asked, his voice suspiciously innocent sounding.

Shit. “Oh, you know, just a bunch of going out songs, feel good tunes, what have you,” Kat said, trying her best to bluff, hoping he wouldn’t look too closely. She kept her eyes locked on her e-reader.

“This doesn't seem like a party mix, it seems like a ‘sod off slash girl power’ mix.”

“What? No, no, it's just, like, a good time playlist,” she said weakly, finally looking over at him.

Harry looked at her pointedly. “Kat, there are quite literally two songs on here titled ‘Fuck You.’ Both Lily Allen’s and Cee Lo’s.”

Double shit. “Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that.”

“Care to explain?”

She looked around for a second, locating Niall sleeping some distance away. Leaning closer to Harry, she tried to keep her voice down. “Um, Niall can be a dick and I like to listen to music as an outlet to my frustration? Fairly healthy, if you ask me.”

“So FUN stands for …?”

“‘Fuck you, Niall’, using the letter ‘u’ in the place of the word ‘you’, yes, you were right, okay? You’re very smart, congratulations.”

Harry looked altogether too pleased with himself. She held out her hand. “Give me that back, no more phone snooping for you.” Maybe it was just better if she didn’t speak to any of Niall’s bandmates, now that she thought about it. Harry returned her phone with a laugh and drifted away again, Kat glad to have the space to herself. 

It didn’t last very long before someone else was joining her.

Kat sighed. “Did your boyfriend tell you about what he found and you just had to come tease me about it?”

“Nah. Well, yeah, he did tell me but I didn’t come to poke at ya or anythin’. Just for a chat.” Louis settled into the seat next to her.

She eyed him suspiciously. 

“It’s our fault you’re here,” he said, out of nowhere.

“What?”

“It’s because of Harry an’ me that you’re here, that a distraction was needed. We’ve been gettin’ sick of all their bullshit and haven’t been playing our respective parts -- me as the loved up boyfriend and Harry as the playboy -- very well recently. Liam and Zayn are much better at doin’ what they’re told. But they’ve already got their roles all sorted and people are happy with ‘em, leaving Niall as the only one left for them to use. Enter you, perfect American girlfriend.”

Kat didn’t know what to say. She’s asked her uncle why she was needed but he’d been evasive.

“So what though? Who cares who you date? Do you really think your fans would hate you guys over it?” she asked when she’d gathered her thoughts together well enough to form a question (well, several questions).

“I used to think that, management had us convinced of it, really. But any more, no, I don’t think they’d care. Might lose a few of ‘em, but would probably pick up a few as well, so it’d even out. Doesn’t matter though, we can’t do anythin’ without their agreein’ to it until we’re done with contract.”

“And when is that, exactly?”

“Too far away to even think about right now,” Louis said with a sigh, then changed the subject, looking at her closely. “You doin’ okay?”

Nothing like a big dose of the boys’ somewhat terrible reality to put her woes in perspective, Kat thought. Sure, Niall was a prick to her ¾ of the time but it could be much worse, she could be forced to hide the fact that she’d found the love of her life and instead have to date someone else (and a wretched someone else to boot, in Kat’s opinion) to cover it up. She really appreciated that Louis had come over to check in on her and give her an explanation behind why she was needed, which he didn’t owe her in the slightest. Despite her tumultuous relationship with Niall, they really all were good people doing the best they could in an extremely unusual situation. “Yeah, I’m fine. Niall and I have our moments but I can’t really complain. I mean, I do complain, but I shouldn’t, really.” 

Louis laughed. 

“Don’t we all, love, don’t we all.”

*

The first concert in Milan was being filmed for the tour DVD, so Kat tried to lay extra low, not knowing for sure what footage would be used in it. Bobby was there, with his girlfriend Aoife, as were Liam’s parents and Harry’s dad, so she stuck close to them before and during the show. She honestly always had the best time when there were parents there for her to hang out with, they were so nice and drama free. She’d always been a bit of an old soul so it made sense that she gravitated to parents even though there were people her own age to hang out with.

A funny moment happened when the guys did their typical break in the concert and took questions via Twitter. Liam read the questions off one of the big screens behind the stage. The first couple were fairly typical and innocuous and the next one could have been as well, but it quickly went awry. Liam answered the question himself first, then looked to his band members to respond.

“If you could be a girl for 24 hours, what would you do?” Liam asked Harry. 

After thinking for a moment, Harry called out, “I’d do Niall. Sorry, Kat!”

Kat buried her face in her hands, laughing. Somehow she guessed that that wouldn’t make the DVD. 

To celebrate the successful taping of the concert, the band and crew had a party that night back on their floor of the hotel, rooms all propped open and music playing. There were drinks and dancing everywhere and the parents left early, clearly seeing where the night was heading and not wanting to be a part of it. The atmosphere was electric, everyone was clearly excited about how well the concert had gone that night. Kat had never heard them sound better, it had been a hell of a show. 

She saw Niall on and off as he moved around the party, ignoring her for the most part. But she took a few shots with the other guys and played a drinking game with Lou, having more fun with her than she’d ever had previously. Clearly all they’d needed was a little alcohol to bond. 

Later in the evening, she found herself hanging out with the backing band, laughing at all their antics. Josh in particular was crazy and had almost given her a concussion when he’d thrown her over his shoulder and spun her around in the hall, bumping her head into the wall. It hadn’t really hurt that much -- it really hadn’t been that hard, plus she was partially numb from the alcohol -- but she didn’t let that stop her from laying on the guilt trip big time, forcing him to bring her snacks and drinks throughout the night. She’d finally released him from his forced servitude, telling him that she might have been exaggerating, just a bit, and he darted out of the room, proclaiming to everyone that Kat wasn’t to be trusted.

And his exit left her pretty much alone with Dan, much to her delight.

“That guy is a riot,” Kat said, laughing.

“He is,” Dan agreed, smiling at her. “I keep meanin’ to tell you, I like your accent.”

“You mean my complete and total lack of an accent? Nebraskans are known for speaking some of the least accented American English -- we have a lot of call centers there for that reason, our accent is pretty much unplaceable.”

“That’s quite the claim to fame.”

“I know, try to control your crippling jealousy,” Kat said wryly, making Dan laugh. He was cute, he was funny, and he was paying attention to her. Apparently the musical band didn’t have the same freeze out mentality as the rest of One Direction, thankfully for Kat.

“I realize that I should probably know this, if I were a true fan, but how long have you been touring with One Direction?” Kat asked.

“This is my third tour with them, the entire band has been with them since the beginning.”

“That’s amazing, I can’t imagine that that’s the norm in this business. Although I really wouldn’t know. That’s not exactly something you learn from reading People magazine, or anything, which is where the vast majority of my pop culture knowledge stems from.” 

“No, you’re right, it is pretty unusual. It’s nice that we’re all pretty much the same age too, they're more like friends than our bosses.”

“That is nice. Probably a lot of artists are total bastards, so you really scored working for these goofballs.” They both took a drink, smiling at each other comfortably.

He looked around, even though they were totally alone in the room by that point, then leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “I know, you know.”

Kat chuckled nervously, running her finger around the top of her beer bottle. She was fairly certain she knew what he was referring to, but wanted to ensure it before she admitted to anything. “Whatever do you mean?” she said, fluttering her lashes at him in an exaggerated manner.

“You and Niall, I know it’s not real.”

“Oh it isn’t, is it? Why would you say that?” she asked with sham innocence. 

“Well, for starters, it’s pretty obvious, you two barely interact when there’s no one around.” He took a sip of his drink, then waved it around the room. “Like tonight for instance, you’ve barely even been in the same room. And Niall’s nice to everyone and he’s borderline rude to you or at the very least, completely indifferent.” It pained Kat somewhat to know just how obvious it was that Niall loathed her, despite all her attempts to get him to warm up to her. It made her crush on him feel all the more embarrassing. Hopefully the band and crew didn’t notice that she’d ever been into him, although it didn’t seem like anyone missed anything around the tour. 

Dan continued, oblivious to her shame “And when we went out in Dublin one night, I saw Ni pick up some girl and bring her back to his room. Oh yeah and -- this is a big one -- he actually told me you were sent by management.”

“Oh, well, yeah, that’s a pretty good collection of evidence you’ve got there. So I guess you might be right.” Kat took a big swig of her beer, the earlier buzz and general good feeling she had going from someone attractive actually paying attention to her fading by the minute. She knew, obviously, that Niall was hardly celibate and in fact had almost witnessed the proof of that in person, but hearing about it from someone else that had seen it firsthand wasn’t pleasant.

“So, if he’s able to get a little side action, it’s probably fair game for you as well, am I right?” Dan asked, his intentions quite clear.

“I honestly hadn’t thought about it, but that makes some sense. If only there was someone around, someone safe, someone in the inner circle I could trust, someone that I was interested in …” Kat said, tapping her finger on her lips as though thinking deeply. She figured that as he wasn’t being subtle in the slightest, she didn’t have to be.

He laughed, then took her beer out of her hand and set it on the table next to them. Once their hands were free, he touched her cheek, his fingers cold from their drinks, before sliding his hand under her hair, pulling her into him. The first touch of his lips on hers felt strange, it had been so long since she’d kissed anyone but Niall. Dan wasn’t hesitant, immediately slipping his tongue between her lips and deepening the kiss. Kat grasped his waist as she closed the remaining distance between them, feeling slightly off kilter both from the drinks and the unfamiliar sensation of actually being desired by the person she was kissing. 

“Ahem.”

Dan and Kat sprang apart, eyes shooting the doorway, where Niall had materialized, leaning against the doorframe. His arms were crossed across his chest and he had a slight smirk on his lips, the very picture of nonchalance, although Kat noticed that his jaw was tense and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Dan grabbed their mostly empty drinks and mumbled something about getting them new ones before getting the hell out of there. Kat couldn’t blame him.

Dan wasn’t gone for 30 seconds before Niall began laying into her. “The door was open, anyone could’ve seen ya.”

“There’s no one here but the band and crew, Niall. Every one of these people can be trusted,” she explained patiently, as if she wasn’t dying of mortification that he caught her kissing someone else. Not that she hadn’t caught him doing much worse but still, it was embarrassing.

“Well, I’d like to think that but ya can’t be too careful.”

“Oh really? Then someone might want to tell Harry and Louis that. Because they were practically eating each other’s faces the last time I saw them in Lou’s room.”

“Comparing yourself to the band, are ya now? Do ya honestly think that ya have the same status as we do? Bit rich, innit?”

Tears sprung to Kat’s eyes. “Fuck you, you know that isn’t true, you know that’s not who I am.” She paused a moment, considering, then continued, “Nevermind. You probably don’t know that, because you don’t have the first clue who I am. But talk to anyone else that’s willingly spent more than five minutes in my company and they’ll tell you that I don’t give a shit about all this celebrity stuff, that I don’t think I’m a big fucking deal just because I was stupid enough to agree to fake date you.”

“Jesus, calm down.” Kat had never wanted to punch anyone more than she wanted to hit Niall at that moment. Nothing infuriated her more than when someone told her to calm down when she wasn’t being unreasonable in the slightest, which she didn’t feel like she was in this instance. He continued on, oblivious to her mounting rage, “I didn’t mean it, was just messin’ with ya. I know you don’t think you’re a big deal or anythin’. But seriously, ya can’t be hookin’ up with guys, er, people I guess, around here, it’s just not a good idea. Even if it doesn’t get out, it could get messy.”

“So that’s how it is? You can fuck anything on two legs and I’m supposed to be a nun this entire time. That seems fair.” Kat made zero attempt to disguise the contempt in her voice.

“Are ya honestly that hard up for action that you’re doing this? I get that we all have needs but surely …”

“It’s not about my _needs_ , you asshole. I can fucking see to my own orgasms, thank you very much. What I am ‘hard up’ for, though, as you so eloquently put it, is attention and human affection. This is easily the most pathetic thing I’ve ever said, but I just wanted someone to be nice to me for once. I’m sure you’re aware of this, but no one on this goddamn tour will give me the time of day. Your bandmates are all lovely men but they’re so loyal to you that they keep their distance, which is pretty much true for Lou and Caroline and the other women as well. Everyone’s perfectly polite but no one will just talk to me like a normal person.”

Niall, to his credit, looked somewhat stunned by her admission. “What about the other gals, I mean, Soph and --?”

“Sophia and I have absolutely nothing in common and Eleanor’s a stone cold bitch. At least to me. So yeah, not much to work with there. I love Gemma and Lottie but they’re not really around all that much.”

He rubbed his hand roughly over the back of his head, looking at the ground. “Fuck,” he muttered.

“Listen, I understand that you 100% didn’t choose this, and I did, and I get that. I’m sorry that you have to do this. No part of this is fair for you. And maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to do this. But if it wasn’t me, they would have found somebody else. So please stop trying to punish me for it.”

Niall stared at the ground, seemingly deep in thought. Kat stood there silently as well, equal parts angry and embarrassed. 

Niall finally broke his silence. “I’ll talk to the guys. And … and I’ll try to be nicer as well. I hate this whole deal but it’s not your fault and I need to quit takin’ it out on ya. That’s not fair.”

“Whatever. I get it, I do. I’m sorry I’m so pathetic. Most people would probably be just fine doing this but apparently I require a lot more validation than I thought I did.”

“Kat, you’re not pathetic. And I know I’ve said I’d be nicer to ya before, but I really mean it this time. I honestly end up feelin’ like shit every time I’m rude to ya, I can always tell by your eyes when I’ve hurt your feelings.”

“Wow. Well, in that case, if being nicer to me will make _you_ feel better, then I guess it’s okay,” Kat sniffed. "Can't have you feeling bad, that's completely unacceptable."

“You’re always takin’ the piss, aren’t ya? I know I never show it, but I do actually like ya quite a bit. When I’m not blamin’ ya for everythin’.” 

“Stop, Horan, you’ll make me blush.”

Niall snorted. “Like that’s hard to do. You have a red face more often than not.”

Kat swatted him. “Do not.”

“Do too. You’re getting pink right now, just thinkin’ about it. Or maybe that’s left over flush from your makeout sesh with Dan.”

“Oh shut it.”

“So … truce?” Niall asked, sticking his hand out.

Kat took his hand and shook it. “Truce.” Kat really, _really_ hoped he meant it this time. 

*

“Hey, uh, Kat, do you … could I, uh, talk to you for a moment? In private?” Dan asked nervously.

“Sure,” Kat agreed, walking over to an open corner of the room with him. It was kind of a subdued atmosphere backstage that day, the second and final night in Milan, as a lot of people were feeling not so great after the partying the night before. Luckily for her, Kat’s conversation with Niall had pretty much sobered her up, coupled with a few tall glasses of water she’d drank before going to bed, so she was feeling just fine. 

Well, she _had_ been feeling fine until she’d seen Dan. She’d quite honestly kind of forgotten all about him after talking to Niall and coming to such a great resolution with things between them. And Niall was following through on his promise too; he’d been friendly (if slightly awkward, they really didn’t have much experience at being nice to each other) that morning, knocking at her door to tell her what the schedule for the day was and talking to her on the ride over to the stadium. 

So, yeah, distracted with her new reality of Niall actually being nice to her (in private!), she hadn’t really given the whole Dan thing much thought at all. 

“Listen, I think you’re great but Niall’s one of my best mates and I don’t want to piss him off. I honestly thought he wouldn’t care, but he looked like he cared, like, a lot,” Dan said, with an earnest look on his face.

“We talked, he really doesn’t. I think he was just surprised. I think he forgets that I’m something someone might actually choose to be around, rather than having to be forced,” Kat explained.

Dan looked extremely uncomfortable and Kat suddenly realized that this wasn’t a two-way discussion, really, this wasn’t something that she could change his mind about -- this was his very nice way of saying that he wanted nothing to do with her. Ouch. 

Not wanting to make it more awkward that it had to be, she quickly saved him. “But I agree with you. It’s definitely not worth the risk. I hope I didn’t make things weird for you and Niall. Or for us, either. Not that we see each other as much, but, you know …”

Relief flashed across his features, the guy really didn’t have a poker face at all. “No, it’s cool. And for what it’s worth, you’re really fit and I’m kinda jealous that Niall gets to kiss ya all the time.”

Kat blushed. “You’re sweet but it’s not so much that Niall ‘gets’ to kiss me as he’s being forced to, so it pretty much takes the fun out of it.”

“I don’t know how anyone could see kissing you as anything to complain about, Kat.”

“Jesus, do you have to be so fucking cute right now? We’ve already established that this absolutely can’t happen,” Kat joked.

Of course, Niall chose that moment to walk by, waggling his eyebrows at her standing in front of Dan with a red face. Kat figured it probably didn't look good but there wasn't much she could do about it. 

“So, friends?” she asked Dan, mostly just wanting to get their exchange over with.

“Absolutely, friends,” Dan replied. In the space of one day, Kat had apparently gone from zero friends on the tour to two: Niall and Dan. Both of whom she’d kissed, so a bit weird, but beggars can’t be choosers.

*

“Sorry if I ruined your thing with Dan. Didn’t mean to, honest.” Niall said to her later that night, when the car was bringing the two of them back to the hotel. Dan must have talked to him, which didn’t surprise Kat at all. 

“It’s fine. He’s cute and fun and, like, has really nice biceps, but it was likely a horrible idea anyway. There was no future at all in it, obviously, so no real loss.”

“Still …” Niall looked guilty, chewing his nails. 

“Listen, Niall, I appreciate that you’re apologizing and that you care about my feelings and all -- that’s some serious friend-like behavior and I’m all for it -- but we’ve got to figure out a way for us to just be chill and not walking on eggshells around each other. I know it’s going to take us a bit to get comfortable with each other as non-enemies, but let’s start how we intend to go on, okay? And I honestly doubt that you’re always going to be treating me like I’m made of glass for the next 10 months. That doesn’t seem to be how you treat any of your other friends and it’s honestly not how I want my friends to treat me either.”

“So you’re sayin’ I should treat ya like I treat everybody else?” Niall asked, a wicked gleam in his eye. 

“Um, yes?” Kat replied, immediately second guessing her request. Maybe him treating her like a princess wasn’t such a bad thing? But Kat knew she’d chafe under that sort of behavior. Sure, it’d be way better than how he treated her before but she’d never truly be able to be comfortable around him if he acted that way with her all the time.

“Cool.” 

They sat quietly for a moment, both looking out the windows at the lights of Milan, when suddenly Kat noticed a horrible smell filling the vehicle.

Pulling the neck of her shirt up over her mouth and nose, Kat smacked Niall with the back of her other hand. “Oh my God, Horan, what did you eat?”

“It’s the beer from last night, pretty sure.” He laughed. “And quit givin’ me that dirty look, ya told me ya wanted me to treat ya like I treat the lads.”

“Is it too late to retract my statement?” Kat wheezed, her eyes watering from the stench.

He put his arm around her and pulled her over to him, ignoring her attempts to wiggle away as Kat wanted as far away from the source of the stink as possible. “Yep, way too late. We’re mates now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "I Am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel, naturally :)
> 
> If you like the story, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry) on Tumblr, thanks!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, lovelies! :)

When Kat and Niall had reached their new “we’re friends” agreement, she hadn’t really thought at all about how they’d still need to be affectionate and kiss when instructed and how that might feel even stranger to do with a friend than with someone that hated you. They hadn’t actually had to really kiss since she’d been back -- nothing more than a little peck here and there -- so it was a bit of a non-issue, but it was always in the back of Kat’s mind, causing her stress when she thought about it.

So she was understandably a bit nervous about the Coldplay concert they were going to. As far as she knew, they didn’t have any instructions for kissing as there wasn’t a pressing need to distract from anything with their relationship for once. She actually wasn’t even sure if Marnie and the rest of the boys’ management even knew that they were going to the concert unless Niall had told them (which she highly doubted, he and the rest of the guys seemed to talk to their management as little as possible). 

But that didn’t mean that Niall wouldn’t decide that they should kiss -- he was pretty committed to making the whole thing look believable. Probably because he knew it provided a good distraction for his band mates. Kat knew she should just ask him but it was just too awkward. Their friendship felt too fragile and new for Kat to risk it with a conversation that could all too easily go south.

Instead, then, of just talking about it, she let her gut churn anxiously as she got ready for the concert, spending extra time primping in front of the mirror. She dressed pretty casually for the evening, pairing a cute tank with skinny jeans and red ballet flats (all her own stuff, for once, but she was pretty certain it would pass muster if they were photographed) but made sure her makeup was absolutely perfect before she emerged from her room. 

“There ya are. Was just goin’ to ask if you wanted a beer before we left,” Niall called out to her.

“Sure, that sounds great. Hey, Basil.” She waved over at Basil, whom she’d heard arrive a few minutes prior. “You’ll be happy to hear that Niall and I are friends now, Bas, so no more walking into screaming arguments.”

He just lifted his eyebrows and went back to reading the magazine he’d been flipping through, wisely not making any comments. 

Kat joined Niall in the kitchen. “He doesn’t believe me,” Kat whispered to him, as he handed her an open beer. 

Niall bumped her shoulder gently, careful not to spill her drink. “‘Cause he knows you’re full of it.” 

“Rude. And completely untrue.”

The concert was at the Royal Albert Hall, a beautiful old venue, which had the band set up in the middle of the arena, the crowd circling them. Kat and Niall (and Basil) had pretty good seats, but were just out in the crowd like everyone else, which made Kat very glad that Basil was there and that they’d arrived just as the show was starting, so they didn’t seem to be attracting too much attention.

A few songs in, Kat thought she recognized the beginning of the next song, and then she was sure, bouncing up and down and looking over at Niall with pure joy. “‘Til Kingdom Come’!” she squealed. He grinned back at her, then pulled her in close to him, his arm tight around her side.

Midway through the song, the band sang the verse “in your tears and in your blood. In your fire and in your flood. I heard you laugh, I heard you sing. I wouldn’t change a single thing” completely acapella, bringing tears of joy to Kat’s eyes that she made no attempt to hide from Niall, who gripped her even tighter when he noticed them.

As the song ended and Niall and Kat joined the audience in thunderous applause, Niall pulled her back towards him, folding her into a hug, which she wholeheartedly returned. He leaned back somewhat, smiling down at her, focusing his gaze on her mouth for a moment before looking up into her eyes, communicating his question as clearly as if he’d said the words. She gave a tiny nod, giving him the green light. Niall cupped her cheek in his palm, before ducking down and carefully kissing her, mouth soft and open, his hand warm on her face. Kat did her best to focus on kissing him back, noting that he was keeping it simple and wasn’t using his tongue or teeth this time, reverting back to the more rudimentary style of their first kisses. Which was fine with her.

After a few moments, he moved his mouth over to her ear, nuzzling into her slightly. “That felt weird, right? Or is it just me?” he murmured, no doubt looking like he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear to anyone watching them. 

“Oh my God, thank you for saying that. Yes, I feel much stranger about this now that we’re friends, I don’t know why though.”

“Guess we’re gonna have to get used to it, though. No real way around it.”

“Yep. It’s just a different, interesting part of our friendship. We drink, play golf, watch awesome 90’s movies, and kiss when we’re in public. Not really like any other friendship I’ve ever had, but it doesn’t mean it can’t work.”

He smiled at her. “You don’t typically snog your mates?”

“No, not really. Certainly not sober.”

“Can’t say I really do either, not regularly at least.”

“It’s okay, though, right? Even though it’s weird?” Kat asked, looking up at him nervously, worried where this left there fledgling friendship. 

“Course it is. It’ll get less weird, ‘m sure of it.” He bopped her on the nose with his finger, just as the band started up the next song. “Now quit worryin’ and get back to enjoyin’ the concert. We’re great, Kat, just fine.”

Kat tried to take his advice, stepping back from him slightly but holding onto his arm as she danced and sang along (out loud, even, so there was one bonus to being more comfortable with him) the rest of the concert. Niall did the same, sometimes spinning and dipping her, as well as kissing her several more times, although they mostly laughed through those, as apparently they had both replaced the weirdness with a hysterical kind of amusement about the absurdity of it all. 

The concert was amazing, Coldplay playing a number of Kat’s favorite songs, and she had so much fun with Niall, in complete contrast to their previous concert-going experience. But no matter how great a time she was having, Kat’s conscious wouldn’t let her fully enjoy herself, knowing that it was dangerous for her, more specifically, dangerous for her heart, if she somehow let herself believe that Niall really liked her as something more than a friend. She knew she had to stay strong, to remind herself constantly that they were never going to happen, in order to keep her heart safe. 

Whether she’d actually be able to do that, though, was doubtful at best.

Once they were home and had gone to their respective bedrooms, Kat felt wired, nowhere near ready to sleep. Thinking that some air (and some distance from Niall in general) would do her good, she went out on the deck, careful to be quiet when opening and closing the patio door. She hadn’t been out there at all since the brief look she got during Niall's initial house tour, but she thought she'd remembered seeing some seating. 

She spied a comfortable looking lounge chair and made a beeline for it, sinking into it and curling her legs under her. It was quiet out there, exactly what she’d needed. 

Until she noticed a man sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the patio, silently staring at her from the shadows.

Kat didn't consider herself a person that spooked easily but this situation seemed to warrant a full-fledged panic. She let out an ear piercing scream, then bolted towards the house, only to slam face first into Niall’s bare chest.

“Holy shit, Kat, are ya alright? What's wrong?”

She grabbed onto him, wrapping her arms around his torso, grateful for the safety of his presence for a split second. But then terror overtook her again as she realized that the intruder was no doubt here for Niall as he was the millionaire and not her. She started shoving him back into the house, throwing a panicked look over her shoulder as she expected the man to be closing in on them by that point.

Niall let her push him until they were safely inside and waited while she locked the door behind them. But when she started tugging on him again, he refused to budge.

“Kat, seriously, what the fuck?”

“There’s ... there’s ... some guy out there, he was just, he was just, just sitting there staring at me, and he, he --” Kat’s anxiety was increasing by the second, fully anticipating that the person on the patio would imminently be trying to break in the glass doors they were standing by.

But even after hearing her explanation, Niall didn’t seem to be grasping the gravity of the situation. He gripped Kat's upper arms, running his hands up and down them in a soothing motion. “Kat,” he began, his voice calm and soothing, “I have an Obama statue out there, it’s life size. I’m guessing ya haven’t seen it before?”

“Wha--?”

“Here, come see.” Niall tried guiding her back out to the patio, but Kat wasn’t moving. 

“I’m not going out there, I won’t.” She shook her head, nothing Niall had said making her feel up to going outside.

Niall sighed. “Okay, hold on a minute, then.” He trotted back into his room while Kat took the opportunity to move further away from the patio doors, her eyes nervously focused on the darkness outside, until Niall came back holding his phone, thumbing through something on it.

He pushed his phone in front of her face, so she couldn’t help but look at it. “See?” Kat saw a picture of Niall’s cousin Willie out on what must be Niall’s patio, seated on a bench by none other than a somewhat cartoonish full-sized statue of Barack Obama, all suited up, his fake arm resting behind Willie’s back, his legs crossed.

What. The. Fuck.

Kat eyed Niall warily. “C’mere.” He pulled her towards one of the windows, this time with more success, and stepped away to turn on the floodlights on the deck. Peering out the window, Kat could see Obama lounging, no longer looking so ominous under the bright lights. 

After she got a good look at the statute, she swung her gaze over to Niall, staring at him for a moment as though she’d never seen him before. “Who has a fucking Barack Obama statue in their garden?”

“Hey, I’m a fan.”

“So am I, he’s the first President I voted for but …” Kat didn’t even know what to say.

“The lads got him for me for me birthday one year. Wouldn’t have bought it meself, but I like it,” Niall said, growing more defensive with each of Kat’s questions.

Kat shook her head, still not quite able to get her head around the fact that anyone, let alone someone that wasn’t even American, having a life size figure of the President of the United States in their home. Talk about having way too much money to burn. “Let’s put a pin in that for a moment. How’d you get out here so quick? I thought I’d been so quiet when I went out there.”

“I have a security system that alerts me anytime a window or door is opened so I just came out here to enter the code so the alarm wouldn’t go off or anythin’, next thing I know, you’re screamin’ your head off.”

“I literally thought I was going to die.” It seemed kind of funny now that she knew what it’d been but Kat still felt the lingering effects of her terror, a shudder passing through her body at the memory.

“Ya okay?” Niall stepped towards her, tilting his head down to try to make direct eye contact with her.

“Sure,” Kat lied. Niall didn’t buy it.

“C’mere.” Kat found herself folded into another one of Niall’s hugs, although this one felt completely different than those she’d received before as he wasn’t wearing a shirt. And she was only in a sleep tank top, so there was a fair amount of skin-to-skin contact.

Although initially his attempt at comforting her only made her feel more on edge, eventually her heart slowed into a more normal rhythm. She focused for a bit on her breathing, closing her eyes as she rested her cheek on his warm chest. She had to give it to him, he didn’t rush her or make her feel like she was bothering him in any way, he just held her in his arms until she stepped back. 

“Thanks, I feel a lot better now.”

“Do ya wanna go meet him?”

Kat squinted up at him. “Niall, you do realize he’s not real, right?”

He barked out a laugh. “Jesus, Kat, course I do. Just think it’d be good for you to face your fears.” He held out his hand, waiting patiently until, with a dramatic huff, she put her own hand into his. Niall led her back out onto the porch until they were face to face with the man that had scared Kat so completely. 

“Barack, this is Kat, Kat, Barack.” Kat sat down next to the statue, rolling her eyes at Niall. Now that she was up close and personal, she pulled her knees up to her chest and looked over the details of the figure, still shaking her head at the fact that Niall owned such a thing and displayed it in such a place of apparent pride. 

The familiar click of an iPhone camera had Kat’s head whipping over to where Niall was standing, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at his phone. 

“You’re not doing anything with that, are you?”

“Just postin’ it to me Instagram.”

Kat gasped. “You are not.”

Niall continued to type on his phone. “I am. Marnie’s been after me to post somethin’ to confirm our relationship. This feels like the right way to do it.”

Kat darted over to him, trying to grab his phone so she could at least see what she looked like in the pic, although she couldn’t imagine it was good at all. She was suddenly glad that she hadn’t yet taken off her makeup for the day, although she was sure most of it was worn off by her exertion at the concert.

As if guessing her fears, Niall told her, “Don’t worry, ya look nice, wouldn’t post it if ya didn’t,” while somehow managing to keep her away from his phone. He finally got her pinned under his right arm and finished typing the caption with his left thumb, hitting post then holding his phone in the air, victorious. He let Kat squirm loose then, handing her the phone before she could make another attempt to get it from him.

The picture wasn’t bad, Kat had to admit, and the caption was quite cute: 

_**niallhoran** : Think Barack appreciates having another American around the house . Know I like having her here ._

Kat smiled down at the phone for a moment, then held it out for him to take back. “That’s alright, I guess.”

“Course it is, I know what ‘m doin’. And look at that, already has hundreds of likes.”

Kat glanced back down at the screen, and, noticing comments underneath the picture already, tried to pull his phone back towards her so she could read them.

She only caught the words “fake as fuck,” “gross,” and “fat” before Niall yanked the phone out of her hands. “No readin’ the comments now, no good comes from that.”

Before Kat could really process what she’d seen, Niall was pushing his shoulder into her stomach, slinging her up and over his shoulder so that she was hanging upside down, her face a few inches from his ass. Rather than fighting him (although she wanted to, if for no other reason than she was freaking out about how heavy he likely thought she was), Kat laughed, “Jesus, Horan, you’ll do anything to get me to look at your butt.”

Niall walked back into the house, closing the patio doors behind them. “It’s a nice arse, so you’re welcome. Yours isn’t so bad either,” he said, then clapped his hand down onto her ass, tensing up immediately after. He quickly put her back onto her feet. “Fuck, Kat, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have --”

Kat cut him off. “Niall, it’s fine. Totally different scenario with you smacking me on my butt now then when you touched me last time. We’re cool, okay?”

“So you’re fine with me touchin’ your bum any ole time now?” Niall teased, his eyes sparkling with good humor.

“I wouldn’t go that far but the occasional ‘good game’ or whatever is fine.” At his quizzical look, she explained, “You know, like when your coach or teammate smacks your butt during or after a sporting event, usually accompanied by a ‘good game’ or ‘nice shot’ or whatever. So, like, next time I school you when we’re golfing, by all means, ass pat away.”

“You shoulda seen me yesterday, ya woulda been the one good gamin’ me.” Niall had went golfing with a few of his friends the day before but she’d begged off, just wanting a lazy day around the house. Plus, she jokingly told him he could use the practice before they played again.

“Sure, sure, Horan, I totally believe you.”

“You callin’ me a liar?” he asked with a smirk, eyes narrowing.

“Of course not. I’d never suggest such a thing.”

They stood smiling at each other for a minute, before Niall cocked his head, looking at her. “Hey, what were you goin’ outside for anyway? Sneakin’ a smoke?”

Not wanting to tell him that she’d wanted some space from him, which was pretty much the opposite of what she’d gotten, Kat played it off. “Gross, no. Just wanted some fresh air.”

“Well, you’re welcome to go out now that ya know it’s safe. I can even give ya the code so you can get out unnoticed next time.”

“I’m alright now. It’s late, should probably get to bed. I’m sorry if you were sleeping and I woke you up.”

“Nah, was just relaxin’, takes me a bit to wind down at night.”

“I can see that about you, you’re such a go-go-go type of person, you’re hardly ever still. Might have to sneak into your room some night to see if you’re actually motionless when you sleep.” Kat paused for a moment. “God, that sounded a lot less creepy in my head, sorry ‘bout that. I won’t actually do it, promise.”

Niall laughed. “You’re welcome to come in my room any time, Kat.” It was his turn to pause as he visibly winced. “Shit, are we the kind of mates where it’s okay to make those kinds of comments? I’d honestly say that to any of my close friends, guys or girls.”

“Okay, first off, thanks for acknowledging that we’re still figuring out our way here. Not that we didn’t a bit with the whole butt touching conversation but let’s just get it all out there.” Kat walked over to the couch and plopped down, figuring that she’d make herself comfortable if they were going to be talking for awhile, Niall following her lead and sitting down as well a cushion away from her. “And second, yeah, I hope we can be that kind of friends. I’m inappropriate the majority of the time with my friends back home so I’d like us to be that way too, if we can. Although it’s a weird situation we’ve got going here, so maybe the same rules don't apply?”

“Don’t see why not. Guess we’ll have to see how things go, maybe.” He scratched his head, then looked over at her appraisingly. “Ya don’t really want to go to bed yet, do ya, Hamilton? I’m wide awake now, let’s watch a movie.”

Kat pulled out her phone, waking it up so she could see what time it was. It was midnight, which was well past her usual bedtime, but she didn’t want to turn down an opportunity to bond with Niall, not when he was asking to spend more time with her. 

“Sure, but nothing I have to pay too much attention to. I’m too tired to be expected to focus.”

“What do you suggest? Got plenty of movies on DVD or we can just find somethin’ on Netflix?”

“Netflix, I’m sure there’s something good there.”

After several minutes of flipping through their choices and arguing good naturedly about what they were going to watch, Kat and Niall settled on _Wayne’s World_ , which had actually been Kat’s suggestion as she thought it was hilarious, an assessment with which Niall agreed.

Even with a movie she loved, and constant trading of lines with Niall, Kat found herself yawning and fighting to keep her eyes open an hour into the movie. She had thought she’d be okay since she didn’t lay down, instead staying seated upright on the couch, but it was no use.

Niall paused the movie. “Kat, go to bed, you’re wrecked. I think ya just nodded off as we were talkin’.”

“Just your boring personality, Niall, sure I’m not the first and I certainly won’t be the last.” 

Niall waggled his finger at her. “Don’t make me give ya another spankin’, Kat.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t mind,” Kat responded saucily, then ruined it by yawning. “Alright, alright, I’m going. Sorry I can’t hang, I’m not used to you guys’ schedule. I need more sleep than you do.”

“You’re weak.”

“You know what, you’re right, I’m totally weak … NOT!” Kat fell over laughing at herself while Niall just stared at her. “Let’s try to make ‘not’ a thing again, I think we can totally do it. In the interest of full disclosure, though, I once tried to bring back Joey’s ‘whoa’ from _Blossom_ and was only mildly successful. It’s harder to resurrect an old cultural phenomenon than you’d think.” 

“To bed. Now. You’re talkin’ shite.”

Kat stood up, trying to look offended. “Excuse you, I’m going.” She started walking to her room. “And you know you love _Blossom_ , don’t try to pretend you don’t.”

Niall just shook his head at her, pushing play on the movie again.

Kat was almost to her room when she heard a loud (and perfectly delivered) “whoa” from the living room. 

“Ha, I knew it!”

*

At the knock, Kat was confused but darted over to answer her hotel door, hoping it was nothing that would involve her having to do anything. She was in full sloth mode and wasn’t really wanting to interrupt that. Maybe it was just room service with something they’d forgotten?

Nope, not room service. Niall smiled at her from her doorway. They'd both went their separate ways after they'd gotten back from the concert. “Whatcha doing?”

“Honestly?”

“No, make something up. Jaysus, of course I mean honestly.”

“Binge watching ‘My So Called Life’ on Netflix and eating the biggest ice cream sundae ever I just got from room service.”

“‘My So Called Life?’”

“Yeah, it was on in the mid-90’s I think? I'm sorta obsessed with the 90’s if you couldn't tell. But the show still holds up. Jared Leto and Claire Daines, super young and super hot.”

“Me and the lads are gonna grab some beers. You’re coming.”

“Oh, I am, am I?” Clearly this was all part of his _we’re friends now_ efforts. 

“Do ya really not want to?”

“It’s not that, it’s just …”

“Just?”

“It’s just really good and it feels so wasteful to leave it?”

“‘My So Called Life?’ Pretty sure it’ll still be there when we get back, kinda the whole point of Netflix, innit?”

Kat stared at him for a moment, unsure if he was mocking her or was really being that dense. “No, doofus, the ice cream. I don’t want to waste the ice cream.”

“Oh, is that it? I’ll help ya with that, budge over.” With that, he pushed by her, walking into her room. 

“Oookay.”

Kat trailed him back into her room, thankful that he seemed entirely focused on the monster dish of ice cream she’d left on the bedside table as it allowed her to quickly snatch her bra off the dresser where she’d abandoned it earlier. She pushed it into the nearest drawer with Niall none the wiser. Sometimes his intense, full bodied focus on food could come in handy.

Niall plopped down on her bed and grabbed the sundae. “You’re really lucky, ya know, that I was here to help in your hour of need. I’ve basically been trainin’ for this me entire life,” Niall managed to speak around a spoonful of ice cream.

“Yes, you’re a real hero. But hey, you’re supposed to help, not eat the whole damn thing!” Kat grabbed the spoon out of his hand and scooped up her own bite before he devoured the entire dish of ice cream.

“Don’tcha have ‘nother spoon?”

“No, Niall, I don’t typically get two spoons when I get a sundae for myself. Seems like overkill. You’ll just have to wait your turn.”

“What’s happen’ in the show?” he asked, motioning towards her laptop. 

“It’s actually my favorite episode. See, Angela and Jordan have been kinda hooking up -- just making out, nothing too crazy -- in the boiler room at their school every day but he still doesn’t really acknowledge her anywhere else.”

“That’s kind of a dick move,” Niall said, absolutely right in his assessment, and she rewarded him by handing the spoon back to him, laughing at the way his eyes lit up.

“Right? Anyway, Angela’s finally fed up with it and tells him off, pretty much, and he finally realizes how great she is. So at the end of the episode, he asks her to talk and they’re walking down the hallway at their school and he just grabs her hand and it’s such an oof moment, you know? Like you just totally feel for her in that moment. I’d play it for you but I don’t think you’d get the same feelings from just a snippet.”

“It sounds amazing,” he said with mock sincerity, doing an American accent -- a teen girl one at that.

“Fuck off, now I’m definitely playing it for you.” She queued up the right spot and pressed play.

There was something sweetly intimate about sitting there with him, sharing her dessert and watching a show together on her laptop. While his eyes were locked on the computer screen, she tracked their shared spoon into Niall’s mouth, noticing for the first time that he was clearly already dressed and ready to go out for the evening. He was wearing skinny jeans (naturally) and a short sleeved button down top that fit snugly over his biceps. Nothing all that different from his stage apparel, but he looked really good.

Kat roused herself before Niall noticed her staring, grabbing the spoon from his hand once again. “Okay, one more bite, then I’ll go get myself ready. I’m guessing yoga pants aren’t appropriate for where ever it is we’re going?”

“We’re just plannin’ on findin’ some little pub, or the German equivalent of a pub, so I’m sure it’d be fine. Not likely any dress code where we’ll end up.”

“As if I could really just go out dressed like this, Marnie’d have my head. Never forget there are camera phones everywhere, young Niall,” she joked as she headed into the bathroom, grabbing some jeans and a couple of shirt options out of the closet on the way.

“You sound like Lou with the young Niall shite,” he called after her.

“Well, I am way older than you, don’t you forget it.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Kat hurried to get changed and get her make up freshened up. She’d only been back in her room after that night’s concert for an hour, so it didn’t take too much work. As she was fluffing her hair, she heard the episode end out in the room and Niall push closed her laptop. Perfect timing.

“Okay, I’m ready, you wanna go?”

Niall stood up from the bed, pulling down the legs of his pants that had ridden up as he’d been sitting.

Kat had to ask. “Those are ridiculously skinny jeans. How does your junk even breathe?”

“Concerned about my junk, are ya?”

“Just saying, I worry about future generations of Horans.”

“My dick works just fine, thanks for askin’.”

“Well sure, it works, but you could be shooting blanks for all you know. You won’t really know until years down the road when you're trying to have kids. By then the damage will already be done.”

“C’mon, they’re not that tight. Not like Harry’s.”

Kat laughed. “Yeah, some of his are rather, uh, explicit, to say the least.”

“That they are.”

“Who’s all going out with us tonight?” Kat asked.

“Liam, Louis, Paddy, and Bas.”

“Oooh, I’m the only girl? Aren’t I lucky?”

“Lucky isn’t the word I’d use to describe ya, m’dear.”

“Oh?” Kat asked cheekily, as she grabbed her purse, shoving her phone and room key into it. “Then how would you describe me, Niall?”

“As I’ve said before, best way to describe you would be to say you’re utterly full of shite, Kat.”

Kat looked at him expectantly, eyes wide. When he didn’t say anything further, she sighed. “God, I was so sure you were going to say ‘not’ after that. Damn it, Niall, you’re really letting me down here. Such a missed opportunity.” She’d been teasing him about it pretty much constantly since they’d watched the movie a few days ago.

He rolled his eyes. “I never agreed to anythin’. You’re on your own on bringin’ that back, I want no part of it.”

“Friendship over, I guess. I can’t be friends with someone that doesn’t support things that are important to me.” Kat folded her arms over her chest, giving Niall a mock stern look. 

“Is Bas your mate?” Niall asked, opening Kat’s door and ushering her out into the hallway.

Kat wasn’t sure why he was changing the subject, but she answered him anyway. “Sure, we’ve been pals for quite some time now. He caught on to how awesome I am much quicker than you did, although in your defence, you had a lot more reason to hate me.”

“So he has to start doin’ this ‘not’ thing as well, then, right?” Niall grinned at her, knowing he had her trapped. 

Kat refused to go down without a fight. “That’s true. Let me talk to him by myself, though. I don’t want you there, looming negativity over the entire thing, like some sort of Irish black cloud.”

“Beautiful imagery there, Katherine,” Niall said dryly. 

“Thanks.” She patted his chest briskly with one hand. “I mean it though, you stay put.”

Kat marched over to where Basil and Paddy were waiting in the hall, quickly going over in her mind how she could possibly get Basil, who must be in his early 40s, to go along with this admittedly idiotic plan that she would have already given up on had Niall not been teasing her so much about it. But now her pride was at stake and she wasn’t going to give up easily.

She decided to seize the moment when Paddy joined Niall to see if Liam and Lou were ready. Explaining what she was doing and what she wanted him to do to Basil was just as mortifying as Kat had envisioned it to be, although it was made slightly easier by the fact that he’d at least seen the movie and knew what she was talking about. She did her best to explain how important this was and, to Basil’s credit, he listened and laughed at all the right parts, but Kat was fairly certain he was just placating her. 

At least she’d tried. So when Niall eventually teased her about her ultimate failure in getting anyone to go along with her endeavor (which she was absolutely certain he would do), she’d know she’d done her best.

Before long, all the guys were gathered in the hall and they were off to the bar, Paddy driving them in a monstrous black SUV. After they’d parked, Kat found herself walking down the street surrounded by all the guys, feeling happy and hopeful about how the evening out was going to go. 

Grinning like a fool, Kat looped her arm through Niall’s arm on one side, and Basil’s on the other, feeling very satisfied with her life. She had a momentary flashback to a drastically different evening with the two of them when they’d went to the John Mayer concert, and she joked to the two of them, “I wore comfortable shoes this time, gentlemen, no worries.”

“I wasn’t worried, I knew that if you needed it, Niall would be happy to carry you again,” Basil said, in his normal voice, before dropping a completely deadpan, “NOT,” on the end of his sentence.

Kat squealed and threw her arms around his neck. As Basil swung her around, Kat saw Niall shaking his head at the two of them while the others laughed but looked a bit confused. The rest of the short trip to the bar consisted of Kat explaining what was going on, with Niall interjecting sarcastic comments throughout. By the end of the story, Kat agreed to drop the whole thing, knowing it was better to quit while she was (very slightly) ahead.

The bar they went into was fairly uncrowded and they all packed into a large booth in the back corner, hoping to remain low key if they could. Kat was squished in between Liam and Niall, and the latter slung his arm around her shoulder, speaking right into her ear so she could hear him over the somewhat loud soundsystem. “So we’re mates now, right?”

She eyed him warily. “I guess? You're not going to fart on me again, are you?”

“Nope.” He said with a snort, then paused, clearly thinking about it. “At least I’m not plannin’ on it right now. What I was gonna say is, get drunk with me then. You can’t be friends with an Irishman and not get pissed with him at least once. I’ll keep ya safe, don’t worry.”

Kat hesitated, understanding where he was coming from but still worried. Niall could keep her safe from everyone else, sure, but who’d keep her safe from Niall? She just wasn’t sure how she’d react to him with her defenses down, now that he was actually being nice to her. Kat didn’t trust herself one bit.

But she figured she could technically do what he asked as long as she remained in control of herself somewhat, it was just going to be tough to recognize that line when it got to that point if she was already tipsy. 

“What are ya worried about?” Niall asked, looking closely at her face.

Kat gave him another plausible excuse. “It’s just we’re flying back to London first thing in the morning, I don’t want to feel like ass for that. Are you going to hold my hair back if I’m puking on the plane?”

Niall grimaced but nodded. “Sure.”

Kat shrugged. “Alright then, I’ll hold you to that. Bring on the booze!”

Two hours later, Kat was convinced that everyone in the world should have the opportunity to get drunk with ⅗ of One Direction (not to short change Harry and Zayn as she was certain she would have had an even better time had they been along as well but of course they couldn’t be as management would have a fit). She found herself deep in conversation with Louis, who, along with Harry, she felt like she knew the best out Niall’s bandmates as she’d talked to them the most. But having drinks with Louis was an entirely new and amazing experience and she was revelling in it. 

“T’ be honest, you’re Haz and mine’s favorite beard slash stunt girl we’ve had-- not that it’s that hard of a competition,” Louis said, giving her a wry look, “although Perrie’s pretty great as well, but we didn’t want to get too attached, not with the way Niall clearly felt about ya. But I’m sorry I didn’t help ya out more, I know you were strugglin’ there for a bit.”

“No, I totally understand. You guys are good friends to each other, I love that about all of you, and it would’ve been a terrible idea to get between me and Niall when we were at each other’s throats. I’m just hoping we can continue to keep things civil between us.”

“Ah Kat, I know you’ve wanting things to be a bit more than civil, I know you’re really hopin’ to get the lad to fall in love with ya.”

Kat felt the color drain from her face, completely mortified. She darted her eyes towards where Niall was sitting but he was talking and laughing with the other guys and wasn’t paying them the slightest attention. Oh my God, just how obvious had she been acting??

Half a second too late, she realized that Louis had just been teasing her, that he had no clue about how she really felt. But by then, her face had totally given her away. She tried to stammer out a half-hearted denial, but Lou put a hand on her arm, effectively cutting her off.

Louis’ own face totally softened as he looked at her. “Hey, I was just jokin’ with ya, no worries. And I’ll take it to me grave, no reason anyone’s got ta know the first thing about it.”

Kat took a big drink of her beer, releasing the breath she’d unknowingly been holding. “You can tell Harry if you want, but, yeah, I’d prefer if it didn’t become this huge joke with everyone. It’s embarrassing enough even feeling this way, I really don’t want everyone else to realize how pathetic I am with my little crush. And for the record, I completely have no illusions about how this is going to play out, I don’t think he’s going to fall for me and we’re going to live happily every after. I’m not an idiot. Well, not _totally_ an idiot, at least.”

“You’re not an idiot at all, Kat. Nialler’s the best, a completely lovable lad so it’s not your fault at all. I just don’t want to see ya get hurt, is all. Our boy’s not exactly the boyfriend type.”

“God, don’t I know it. I kinda live with the guy, I’m well aware of the the revolving door on his bedroom. And I have no interest in being in that line either, in case that crossed your mind. I’m not against casual sex at all but it would be a terrible idea in this situation. Not that he wants to sleep with me anyway, but, ya know, in the hypothetical sense.”

“Sounds like ya got your head on straight, should be just fine, then,” Louis said, patting her on the back, then slinging his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a side hug. 

As much as Kat appreciated Louis’ vote of confidence, she was much less certain about how well she was handling the situation. If she just tried to keep a bit of distance from Niall, just remained vigilant in protecting herself, maybe, just maybe, she’d make it out of this thing with her heart intact. 

It was a pretty damn big “maybe” though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "Til Kingdom Come" by Coldplay
> 
> My [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)!
> 
>  
> 
> ["Fools' Gold Tumblr rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to the best beta ever [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's chapter! 
> 
> I wanted to post a little trigger warning here (and I'll add it to the tags as well), but there's some weight discussion here (management is concerned with Kat's weight) that causes Kat some anxiety and pushes her into a bit of a period of disordered eating and exercising. If this is something that bothers you, I'd be happy to let you know how this story line plays out (I have it all mapped out already) so you'll know if it's something you can handle or not. I'd post it here but I don't want to spoil the story line if I don't have to. Know that I'll handle it carefully and as accurately as I possibly can (it comes from a place of personal experience). 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Kat should have seen it coming, should have known that as everything else was going so good, something completely shit was bound to happen. 

That something shit came in the form of a phone call from Marnie, when Kat had been enjoying a relaxing day at Niall’s house. She’d talked to her family and done some work for the professor she was assisting, altogether feeling like a good and productive member of society for once.

“We’ve been looking at the latest pictures and we’re pleased overall with your performance, however, it looks like you’ve put on some weight.”

“Maybe a couple of pounds? I haven’t really been working out and the food choices aren’t always the best …” Kat tried to explain, completely mortified that her weight gain was that noticeable. She knew she'd been overdoing the room service but hadn't thought it was that bad.

“I understand,” Marnie interrupted, her tone suggesting anything but. “Regardless, we’d really like to see you drop about 10, maybe 15 pounds.”

“Whoa, I maybe weigh five pounds more than I did when you guys hired me, why do I need to lose so much more?”

Marnie sighed. “Well, Katherine, the camera tends to add weight and if you’re already going to be making an effort to get in better shape, you might as well go that extra mile. I’m not sure if you’ve been online at all, but a lot of the fans thought you were too big for Niall even at your previous weight, nevermind now. Besides, don’t you think you’d feel so much better about yourself if you were in better shape? I’m sure you’ve noticed a lot of the pictures are less than flattering, think how much more confident you’d feel if you were slimmer! And you have to remember that this is your job right now, that it’s important that you look good and put your best face forward as Niall’s girlfriend. So just put in some extra effort with working out and eating right and you’ll be great.”

God, fuck them, seriously. 

Kat didn't actually say that though, she just mumbled that she'd work on it and even fucking apologized for gaining weight, like the complete pushover she apparently was.

In her head, though, she was cursing a blue streak and vowing that she'd be damned before she so much as lost a pound. Maybe she’d even _gain_ weight, that’d show them … 

*

But of course it wasn’t that easy, dismissing Marnie’s comments. Objectively, rationally, Kat knew she wasn’t heavy. She was only 5’4” so she did show any fluctuation in weight before someone taller would but she had always been lucky in the fact that she gained weight pretty evenly so it typically wasn’t too obvious when she put on a couple pounds. She’d been an athlete for much of her life and while she hadn’t really worked out much the last year or so, she knew she was at a healthy weight when she was hired for this job. 

Knowing all that, however, didn’t mean that she could just ignore Marnie’s request that she lose weight, this was her job after all, as unconventional as it was. Nor could it stop her feeling like a total whale, something she'd been fighting against the entire time she'd been in the public eye anyway.

Kat knew that part of the problem was that she hadn't always had a completely healthy attitude towards food, although she'd made tremendous growth in that area, to the point where she thought it had become a non issue for her. But all that progress seemed to disappear from that one short (but incredibly painful) phone conversation with her employer. 

She couldn’t do too much about working out, though, when she was at Niall’s house, as she didn’t want him to question what she was up to -- she’d never once shown any interest in using his treadmill or weights before, so she didn’t want to arouse any suspicion. So she focused on cleaning up her eating, which was much easier as Niall was a fairly healthy eater himself. She just had to cut back on the snacking, which, while depressing, wasn’t that hard to do at all. And she golfed one day with Niall, which almost counted as a workout. 

But of course, because she was nothing if not unlucky and the Universe was apparently an asshole, a few days later, when they were in Barcelona for yet another One Direction concert the next day, Niall invited her to come down to the pool area, as they had a private cabana/terrace for all of them.

In all likelihood, Kat would have felt self conscious around Niall in her bathing suit regardless, but given the fact that she’d gained a bit of weight recently which was apparently noticeable enough for someone (actually, likely several someones, which made Kat feel even sicker to consider) from the band’s management to talk to her about and, yeah, she wanted to find some sort of tent-like dress to hide herself in. Also not helping was the fact that Sophia, who was of course in Barcelona with them as well, looked like a fucking swimsuit model all laid out on a chaise lounge, tanning, when Kat and Niall arrived. 

He turned towards her and asked if she wanted a drink, as the cabana, naturally, had its own bar.

“I’ll have a vodka soda.”

Niall gave her a raised eyebrow look. “Vodka soda? Thought ya were a beer gal.”

“I am, usually. Thought I’d be fancy today.” It was also one of the lowest calorie drinks she’d found when she googled. Also champagne, which surprised her. But Niall didn’t need to know that was why she was ordering it.

“No problem. Lemon or lime with it?”

“Either’s fine, thanks.”

Vodka soda, Kat discovered, was actually quite gross. The soda didn’t seem to have enough flavor to hide the taste of the vodka so Kat was forced to try to govern her facial expressions as she drank the damn thing.

Despite the gross drink, Kat was thankful that there wasn’t an actual pool they were supposed to be swimming in that would necessitate her being in only her swimsuit, so instead she kept on her flowy cover up (which pretty much fit the whole tent concept she was hoping for, now that she thought about it) and drank and chatted with everyone. For the band, it was only Liam and Niall there but Lou and a bunch of other people associated with the tour were there as well. 

The cabana they were in was easily bigger and nicer than her apartment back home. When she remarked on how elegant it was, someone told her it was called the “Extreme Wow Cabana,” which sounded about right. 

The only downfall of it was that they were only about a floor and a half above the pool area, so there were hordes of One Direction fans lingering down below, watching their every move and shouting at them regularly. Kat tried to stick closer to the building to remain out of the line of sight, but it wasn’t always possible. She noticed Liam and Sophia kissing so she knew it was only a matter of time until her and Niall would have to do the same, lest anyone think that there was trouble with their relationship. 

Of course, the thought of kissing him didn’t sound bad at all to Kat, per usual. Niall looked extremely cute, wearing loose gray athletic shorts and a sleeveless white shirt, an outfit that could easily fall into the pajama category on a normal person but he somehow made it look like it was designer. His biceps and sunglasses may have helped with that. Mostly the biceps.

Kat was thankful for her own sunglasses as they left her somewhat free to ogle him at her leisure. She really tried not to but wasn’t entirely successful; no matter where she was on the deck or who she was talking to, her eyes kept getting drawn back to him, like he had some sort of magnetic hold on her.

As closely as she was tracking him throughout the afternoon, he still somehow managed to sneak up on her, plopping down beside her where she’d been talking with Lou, sitting at the foot of her lounge chair. 

“Can I borrow you for a minute, m’dear?” he said to Kat, winking over at Lou, who just rolled her eyes at him. Lou seemed pretty immune to the charms of the boys by this point and tended to treat them like her pesky younger brothers. 

“Niall, see if you can get Kat to lose the cover up, she should really be taking advantage of this sun,” Lou scolded, as Niall pulled Kat up from her seat. After spotting the neck ties to her bikini top peeking out from under her flowy tunic, Lou had been hounding her about why she wasn’t laying out with them, which Kat had successfully diverted the conversation away from, although clearly Lou hadn’t forgotten. “Don’t get many hotels like this, nor much time off to actually sun bathe. It’s criminal to waste the opportunity!”

Niall led Kat towards the bar, where they both got fresh drinks, Kat asking for extra limes this time to hopefully make the whole thing more palatable. It helped, but she’d still rather have a beer. And Niall said nothing about her decision to stay covered up, which she greatly appreciated.

They strolled together towards the edge of the terrace, where they leaned on the plexi glass that acted as the deck railing so as to not obstruct the gorgeous views. They both ignored the yells coming from below them, instead chatting to each other companionably. 

“God, this view is everything,” Kat remarked, staring out into the beautiful blue sea in front of them. “Why can’t all of your hotels be this awesome?”

“Even if they were, they’d be wasted on us. Barely even there, most of the time. And hidin’ in our rooms the whole time we actually are there.”

Tipping her head in a silent acknowledgment of the masses below them, Kat replied, “Can’t say I blame you, I feel like we’re in a fishbowl right now or like we’re animals at the zoo or something. But at least they can’t actually get at us.”

“Yeah, but it’s worth it, isn’t it? I could stay out here all day.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m in serious danger of burning even with my SPF 50 sunblock I’m sporting right now. Did you put anything on?”

“Sure I did, bit on my face and arms. Tryin’ to even out my arms though, so didn’t put much on the tops of ‘em.”

“Yeah, you did have a bit of a farmer’s tan, but looks like that’s already better from the time we’ve spent out here today.”

He flexed his arm at her. “You checkin’ out my guns, Kat?”

“Get over yourself, Horan.” Kat was once again glad for the cover of her oversized sunglasses, as her eyes revealed nothing to him for once.

“Speakin’ of how sexy I am--” Niall began.

Kat cut him off, tilting her head quizzically as she looked at him. “Were we talking about that? I don’t recall that in the slightest.” She rubbed her chin, pretending to be trying to remember what he was talking about.

Niall continued on, unperturbed, “Speakin’ of how sexy I am, what do you say you and me get a bit of kissin’ goin’ on? Not right here but back a bit so they can see us without us bein’ right on top of ‘em.”

“Sounds okay to me.” Kat took a gulp of her mixed drink, amping herself up.

“Just okay? Clearly I need to up me game if kissin’ me is just ‘okay’. Haven’t ever had such a piss poor review of me skills before.” Kat appreciated the teasing attitude he was taking with her, but she couldn’t really fathom him being any better at kissing as she’d been pretty impressed with what he’d been doing so far. 

“You would ask for reviews, Niall, I can totally see that happening. You probably have comment cards for all the girls that cycle through your bedroom.”

He grabbed his chest. “Ouch, Kat, that hurts. Ya make me sound like a total man whore.”

“Oh, is that not the case? Can’t imagine where I got that impression?” Kat smiled so he knew she didn’t mean any harm by her comments.

“Listen, I’m not tryin’ to act like I’m celibate or anythin’,” he smirked over at her when she rolled her eyes at him, both of them no doubt recalling the times she’d seen and heard the truth of that statement, “but it’s not like I’m out pickin’ up girls every night or sleepin’ with fans or anythin’. I just have a lot of, uh, friends all over the place that I have a mutual understanding with.”

Kat was honestly fascinated. “So, what, you’ve got a girl in every city you guys play in?”

“Not every city, exactly, more like regions. We don’t always play in the same cities, so sometimes they’ve got to travel a bit to come see me.”

“I guess you weren’t joking about your rave reviews, Nialler, got ‘em flocking to you from distant lands.”

“Like I told ya, I know what I’m doin’. And listen to you with the ‘Nialler,’ we’re best buds now, aren’t we?”

“Best buds that smooch.”

“Smooch is a great word,” Niall laughed, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards him a bit as he steered them both away from the railing. “Speakin’ of smoochin’, let’s get to it.”

With a smile, Kat lifted her face to him, slinging her arms around his neck as their lips met, moving together for a moment before they both pulled back a bit. “Little less weird that time, am I right?” Niall asked.

Kat shrugged, although the effect was diminished by the fact that her arms were still wrapped around him. “Sure, I guess.” 

He kissed her again, his hands hot on her hips. This close, he smelled like summer: the slightly coconutty smell of his sunblock, beer, and just a lovely, warm Niall scent that was tough to pinpoint. Inching his head back somewhat, he licked his lips, cocking his head. “Like kissing you better when you’re drinkin’ beer, if I’m honest. This is … too tangy.”

Kat pushed at him. “Jerk. I’ll be sure to take your tastes into account next time, didn’t realize you were quite so finicky.” 

“Finicky? Makes me sound like a cat. But you’re the only Kat here.”

Kat huffed out a breath. “I thought we’d moved past the cat comments, Niall.”

“Nah, just haven’t had a good opportunity to use one for awhile. Do ya get sick of ‘em, honestly?”

“Depends. You’ve been fine, seriously, I’m not just saying that, but sometimes people can really overdo it. I’m used to it, obviously, and I don’t mind a bit here and there, but when a person makes a cat comment every damn time I see them, it gets really irritating. Don’t know why my parents couldn’t have just shortened my name to Kate instead. Apparently some people think I look like a Kate, so it would have totally worked,” she couldn’t resist teasing him. 

Niall tweaked her nose. “That was before I knew ya. You’re a Kat, no question.”

“I’m choosing to take that as a compliment, regardless of how you meant it.”

On the way back to their rooms, loose and tired from the sun and the drinks, Kat was stopped by the front desk; she disengaged her hand and told Niall to go ahead without her.

“Package for you, miss.”

“Ooh, thanks!”

Kat wasn’t expecting anything so she had no idea what it might be. But of course she was excited about a mystery gift. She grabbed it from the hotel employee and raced up to her room, pulling it open the minute she got through the door.

It was a selection of workout apparel, everything from sports bras to shorts and capris. _Okay, thanks management_ , she thought, _as if I could forget the whole ‘you’re fat’ conversation_. Although she actually hadn’t really been thinking about it for most of the day; she’d been having such a fun time with Niall and everyone else. But it all came rushing back with the lovely “gift” Marie had sent her, a visual reminder that she needed to get to work.

The next morning (which came all too soon for Kat as they’d all been out celebrating Ashton’s birthday the night before), Kat’s alarm went off at the crack of dawn and she groaned, rolling out of bed. She threw on some of her new workout clothes and brushed her teeth, still yawning when she pushed open her hotel door to head down to the hotel’s fitness center. Since it was so early, she hadn’t even bothered to check with Basil or any of the other security team members to see if it was okay, besides, she was fairly certain that Marnie wouldn’t give a shit if it weren’t particularly safe for her to workout, not when she was apparently really hurting Niall’s image with her fat thighs. 

Once she’d stretched and ran a couple of miles (fueled somewhat by the thought that Niall himself had noticed how much weight she’d gained and was grossed out by her, not that he’d given any indication of that but maybe he was hiding it?), then cooled down, she headed back to her hotel room to collapse for a few hours, having nothing to do until the show that night.

Or so she’d thought. At 10, Niall knocked on her door, dressed in workout gear. “Still sleepin’, lazy bones?” he teased.

Kat didn’t correct him, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “It was a late night last night. Particularly after a day out in the sun drinking. Are you just here to make fun of me?”

“No, did I forget to tell ya you’re supposed to come with me today? Me and Tommo are going to the football stadium, get to have a bit of a kick around.”

“That sounds like fun for you guys. But no, you didn’t tell me. Can you give me 15 minutes?”

“Sorry ‘bout that. Sure, that’s fine. Louis isn't ready yet anyway. You can just ring me when you're ready, alright?” he said, then started to walk away.

“Uh, on your room phone? What's your room number?” Kat called after him.

“No, on me mobile, ya goof.”

Kat cocked her head, giving him her best _you've got to be kidding me_ look. “I don't have your cell number, Niall.”

“Ya don’t?” Niall looked surprised.

“Have we ever texted or talked on the phone?” Kat asked, her tone slightly snarky.

He paused, thinking. “Guess not. Well, I got your number, I’ll shoot ya a text so you’ll have mine.”

“Ooh, this is getting serious, Niall, can’t believe I’m getting your digits. I’m feeling very swoony for some reason.”

Niall just continued to walk away, throwing up his middle fingers at her as he did so.

*

“I have to redo a couple of my parts for the new album, come with,” Liam said that night, after the concert. She wasn’t quite certain, but she was guessing that Niall had asked the other members of One Direction to hang out with her occasionally, which was both sweet and more than a little embarrassing. But just because it was slightly humiliating that they were practically being forced to spend time with her didn’t mean she was going to turn down the amazing opportunity Liam was presenting her with. 

“I can do that?” she all but squealed, clapping her hands in glee.

“As long as you're quiet, sure. C’mon.” Kat hesitated a moment, as she was in pajama pants and her Bruce Springsteen concert tee, but as Liam was casually dressed as well, she figured it didn’t really matter. 

Liam led her down the hall, knocking at a door that was near the end. The door was opened by someone that looked familiar but Kat hadn’t met. As they walked into the room, Kat saw the desk set up with a laptop and some sort of stereo looking equipment with lots of knobs and buttons, with a couple of speakers, one on each side of the equipment. In the corner, there was a black foam semicircle that was apparently a makeshift recording booth, complete with an expensive looking microphone and more speakers. 

“Kat, not sure if you’ve met these gents. This is John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott, they handle all the recording and producing. Lads, this is Kat.” Kat waved, not a hundred percent sure who went with each name but guessing she’d figure it out. 

“Nice to meet you. Make yourself comfortable,” who she thought was Julian said, motioning towards the bed. It was nice hearing an American accent again for once. Kat plopped herself down, sitting cross legged and leaning against the headboard. 

Liam went into the booth, looking at his phone for the lyrics. “So just ‘18’ tonight, Julian?”

“Yep, just need you to redo your part and the chorus on that one, as well as a couple of harmonies. I’ll double check to be sure that that's it for now.” Liam strolled over to Kat while he was waiting for them to get everything set up. 

“This is not at all how I imagined your music being made, not that I had really thought about it all that much. Is this unusual?” Kat asked.

“I think so. We have to do it this way as we’re on the road so much, we don’t have down time to get into the studio.” 

Julian turned from his spot in front of the laptop. “Okay, we’re all ready to go. And you were right, it’s just ‘18’ for you tonight, so should be pretty quick and easy.”

Liam headed back into the booth, joking with the guys before shaking his arms out and rolling his head around, clearly getting into serious recording mode. 

The music began and Kat quickly began immersed in the process, never tiring of the song no matter how many times Liam had to repeat his parts. She laid her head back on the headboard and closed her eyes, taking it all in. 

So intent on listening to everything, Kat didn’t even notice immediately that Liam was done with his work. She was startled when Liam came and sat down next to her, looking at her with concern, while the others were listening to the music and working on the laptop.

Wiping away tears, Kat said, “That’s, like, the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. But how in the hell are they letting you put that on the album?”

“What do you mean?”

She lowered her voice, even though she was sure everyone in the room knew about the relationships in the band. “That song is so clearly about Harry and Lou, I mean, c’mon.” 

“They didn’t write it. Ed Sheeran did,” Liam pointed out.

Kat gave him a look. “He clearly wrote it about them then.”

Liam laughed. “I think you’re probably right about that. You liked it, though?”

“Oh my God, yes. Like ‘listen to it on repeat for weeks’ liked it. Not a real surprise though as I’m a big Sheeran fan. And you sounded so good on it, Liam.”

“Thanks, love.”

John called back to her, “Kat, want to come take a listen?”

Kat was up and by his side before he’d even finished his sentence. Julian got up and let her have his seat, loaning her his headphones so she could hear how all the band’s vocals sounded with the backing instrumentals. 

A bit later, there was a knock on the door and Jamie went over to answer it. She was intently listening to the music when she glanced up to see who had been at the door, to find Niall standing there, looking surprised to see her. 

She pulled off the headphones. “Hey there.”

“Hey yourself. Nice shirt. You helpin’ the lads out?”

“More like distracting them all, but they’re being very nice to me anyway.” She felt like she needed to justify her presence to him. “Liam invited me along. Are you up now?”

“Think so. You all done, Li?”

Liam looked over at Julien who gave him the thumbs up. “Yep, just. Want to head out with me, Kat?”

Kat hesitated. She'd like to hear Niall as well but wasn't going to stay unless he invited her. But Niall was busy laughing at something Jamie had just said so it didn't look like that would be happening. 

“Sure, sounds good.” She got up to follow an amped up Liam out and he surprised her by squatting in front of her, pulling her onto his back and trotting with her around the room, making her giggle uncontrollably.

“Good night all, Kat and I will see ya later.” With Kat still on his back, he bowed, making Kat squeal and practically choke him, afraid she was going to get dropped. He started towards the door once he was fully upright and could breathe comfortably again.

“I see how it is, Kat. You'll hang when Liam’s recordin’ but not me?” Niall said, folding his arms over his chest and mock pouting.

“Well, Niall, Liam actually asked me -- a totally crazy concept, I know -- something you haven't done.

“Didn't realize you needed a formal invitation.” He grabbed her hand, kneeling down beside her and Liam. “Oh dearest Kat, will you please do me the honor of listening while I re-record my parts on a couple of songs?”

Kat rolled her eyes but replied with mock solemnity, “I will.” Liam turned around and walked her over to the bed, dumping her unceremoniously onto it.

As Niall made his way over to the recording booth, John asked if she wanted a beer, holding a bottle out to her from the room’s mini fridge. Although she shuddered thinking about what it would cost, she took it from him, as she didn’t really care as she wasn’t paying for it. She also decided that one full calorie beer wouldn't kill her; she'd just run extra the next morning before their flight out. Or maybe they weren’t leaving until the day after? She needed to be better about knowing their schedule. Regardless, there would be running the next day.

“So what’s up for me tonight, gentlemen?” Niall asked.

“You’ve got a couple bits on ‘Fool’s Gold’ and ‘18.’ We’ve got the music and everything all set up for ‘18’ so let’s start with that one.”

Listening to Niall record felt vastly different to Kat than when she’d watched Liam. For starters, he pulled off his shirt once in the booth (was it warm in there? Liam had seemed fine), which she tried to ignore, but he also kept periodically looking over at her so she felt like she had to constantly monitor her facial expressions to ensure she didn’t get a dreamy/sappy look on her face as she listened to him sing. 

Discounting her experience at the Mayer concert, she hadn’t really gotten to hear him sing just on his own before and she pretty much immediately realized how much she’d underestimated his skill as a vocalist. His voice, while perhaps not as distinctive or wide ranging as some of the other members of his band, was simply gorgeous. She loved his tone and the little rasp he had to his voice. 

But then the next song began. Although at first she just enjoyed listening to Niall’s voice -- on this song in particular, it was soft and pure -- she eventually started paying attention to the lyrics and her stomach dropped when she realized what the song was about.

“Can I see the words for this?” she asked Jamie, the sole Brit in the trio of producers in the room, who was sitting closest to her spot on the bed. He handed over his phone and Kat scrolled through the lyrics, trying to keep a straight face as her stomach felt increasingly sick. 

“Your boy wrote on this one,” he said, glancing over at her briefly, before returning his eyes to Niall. 

“Oh, he did?” Kat asked weakly. She knew that he’d almost certainly written this song long before they had even met but its lyrics hit a bit too close to home, were much too reminiscent of how she felt around Niall. The song seemed to be about a mostly one-sided relationship, where one of the people cared too much and the other was simply passing time.

So, yeah, that felt very real to Kat at that moment.

She felt particularly targeted by Zayn’s lyrics in the song: 

_Yeah I know your love’s not real_  
_That's not the way it feels_  
_That's not the way you feel_

Kat kept herself together and if she drank her beer a bit more aggressively during the second song than the first, well, no one had to know. By the time Niall was done, her beer was gone, although she held onto it, wanting something to do with her hands to keep herself from revealing her nervousness overmuch. Much like Liam had done, Niall came and sat by her once he was finished, thankfully putting his shirt back on before he did.

“Nice work on the lyrics to that song, I loved it. It’s beautiful, sounds really, I don’t know, retro in a super cool way.” She grimaced, then laughed at herself. “Sorry, not much of a music critic. Don’t know the right lingo.”

“You’re fine. And thanks. I didn’t really write that much on this album, was too busy with physio and such after me knee surgery. So I just have a couple of songs on this one. Sucks but what do ya do?”

“Well, if the others you did are as good as that one, doesn’t seem like it should matter. Quality over quantity, you know?”

Niall nodded in understanding, then his eyes lit up. “Whatcha doin’ there, Kat? Little frustrated, maybe?” he teased, his gaze locked on where Kat was currently decimating the label on the beer bottle she was holding, picking and pulling it apart as they chatted.

She threw a piece of the label at him. “God, is this what it’s going to be like being friends with you, maybe we should go back to when you hated me? And just because I’m doing this doesn’t mean I’m sexually frustrated, you jerk, maybe I’m just jittery. It is pretty late at night, ya know. And you shouldn’t judge, Mr. Fidget.”

“Mr. Fidget?” Niall raised his eyebrows at her, smirking.

“Yeah, you can never hold still.” She did an exaggerated impression of him, animatedly scratching the back of her head, then her leg, jiggling her foot, shifting in her seat, ending with mock chewing her nails like Niall constantly did. 

Niall knocked his shoulder with hers. “Alright, alright, I think that’s enough makin’ fun of each other for the night. Let’s get out of here, let the men do their work.”

After a round of goodnights and thanks, Kat and Niall were headed to their rooms. Kat’s was first but as she pulled out her room card, she noticed Niall wasn’t rushing off to his own room. 

Leaning against the wall beside her door, Niall asked, “Hey, do ya still have my Eagles shirt?”

Kat leaned back against her door, pulling up a knee and resting her foot flat on the door. The whole scene was giving her serious end of a date vibes, where the person she'd been out with had walked her to her door and they were doing the whole ‘will there or won't there be a kiss’ dance.

Definitely trying to erase that idea, Kat attempted to play it cool regarding Niall’s question. “Do I? I don’t know. Maybe?”

Niall wasn’t fooled and leveled her with a look. “Kat, ya were supposed to just wear it for some pap pics, not keep it forever.”

“I know! I just thought that maybe I could, I don’t know, wear it again? Make it that much more believable, you know?” Kat was reaching, she knew it, and she knew Niall knew it too. The only question left was whether he’d let her get away with it.

“Mhm.”

Figuring that was a ‘no,’ Kat sighed. “Okay, you’ve got me, I was trying to keep it. What can I say, ‘I’m a thief, I’m a thief,’” she jokingly sang at him, quoting One Direction’s song “Stand Up,” which made Niall laugh in surprise, exactly as she’d hoped it would. “It’s an awesome shirt, so soft and comfy! And I love the Eagles so that makes it all the better. Do you even wear it anymore? I thought you probably wouldn’t even miss it.”

“I do wear it, I haven’t had it that long! Harry gave it to me for my birthday last year, so yeah, I wanna keep it.”

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize it was a gift. I’ll wash it and give it back when we’re ho-- er, back at your place.” Kat flushed, mortified that she'd almost called Niall’s house her home. 

Niall didn't comment on it though. “No rush, mostly just givin’ ya shit. Though I do want it back at some point.” He pushed off from the wall, stretching his arms above his head while Kat tried not to stare at the small strip of skin exposed by his raised shirt. “So you’re an Eagles fan? What do ya like of theirs?”

“Uh, ‘Hotel California’?” she said, affecting a ditzy sounding voice. “Are you seriously quizzing me about whether I’m a legitimate fan or not? Such a bullshit dude thing to do. Like when you mention you like a sports team and they force you to name five players and their record for the last decade.”

He laughed. “I didn’t mean it that way. Well, not entirely at least.”

“I’ll answer you though. But my faves are primarily radio hits, not that I’m going to apologize for that. My absolute favorite is ‘Desperado.’ Or ‘Take it Easy.” Side note: I’ve actually been in Winslow, Arizona. Just drove through but I obviously listened to the song while we were there. I also really like Don Henley’s solo stuff although not Glenn Frey’s as much. ‘End of the Innocence’ is one of my all time favorite songs. And ‘Boys of Summer’ and ‘New York Minute’ and ‘Heart of the Matter’? Total jams. I shouldn’t forget Joe Walsh either, I really love ‘Life’s Been Good.’ Cautionary tale for you guys, I suppose. I’ll have to listen to it again soon to see if I have a different take on it now.” 

“Alright, you more than pass. Won’t do that to ya again, promise.”

“You’re better not. My parents raised me on the classics, I’ve had a proper musical education. God, listen to me with the ‘proper,’ clearly been hanging out with you guys too much.”

“We’ll have ya speakin’ with an accent before too much longer. Speakin’ of, how long are ya here for this stretch? Or have they told ya?”

“I think through Louis’ mom’s wedding towards the end of the month? So a couple of weeks still. Marnie said I was here for so long this time because they hadn’t intended that I come back until the end of June or early July, until the whole Ed Sheeran song thing happened.”

Niall chuckled. “Makes sense. Our last show for this leg is on the 13th, thought I might go home and see the family for a few days after that. You up for visitin’ Mullingar? I could show ya the sights.”

“You don’t have to take me, Niall, do you? Maybe we can pretend that I have some friends over here that I’m visiting so you can get some time alone with your family? I can talk to Marnie, maybe if we do something big and public before then, you’ll be off the hook and won’t have to bother lugging me home with you.”

“Won’t be a bother at all to have ya with. You’ve seen me family, ya know things can get a bit tense there, might be nice to have someone with me for once. And you’d save me from havin’ to stay at me da’s -- everybody knows where he lives and there are always fans stoppin’ by or just waitin’ outside the door. But I always stay anyway ‘cause I know it’d hurt his feelings if I didn’t. But me room’s just got a single bed so if you’re with, will have a good reason to stay at a hotel, tell him I want to do somethin’ nice for ya.”

“You’ve already thought this all out, I see. Glad I can be of at least some use to you.”

Niall just shook his head at that. “We’ve got a whole ‘nother day in paradise here tomorrow, then we’re off for Madrid the day after that. Anythin’ you’d like to do while we’re here?” 

“I know you hate doing this, but do you think maybe we could do just the smallest amount of sightseeing. I’ll Google some places that we should see, maybe grab some tapas or something for lunch? Who else is staying, maybe we could make the lunch a group thing?”

“Liam and Sophia and Harry. And that sounds good. I’ll talk to Bas in the morning, see what he suggests. If no one else is goin’ out, maybe we could borrow another security person to make sure we don’t get bothered too much when we’re out in town.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Okay, get some rest. I’ll see ya in the mornin’.”

Kat gave him a salute. “Will do. Thanks for letting me stay tonight, you did such a good job. Can’t wait to hear the songs once they’re completed, seems like this album’s going to be even better than the last. And that’s sayin’ something.”

“Night, Kat.”

“Night.”

After laying in bed for a half hour, unable to sleep, partly due to her excitement about the next day and partly due to how much fun she’d had that night, Kat gave it up and got out of bed, getting dressed in her workout gear and heading down to the gym again. Might as well get a head start on burning off that beer …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter: "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh
> 
> My [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)!
> 
>  
> 
> ["Fools' Gold Tumblr rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to the best beta ever [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, struggled a bit with it. And I realize things are moving quite slow but it picks up soon.

Kat slept in the next day, getting in a workout when she first got up, then checked (via text! like they were actually friends!) with Niall to see if he wanted to do lunch or sightsee first, and to follow up with him regarding how plans for the day had come together with his bandmates and their security. 

He responded pretty promptly and wrote that they were doing lunch first, then checking out the city afterwards, borrowing Harry’s bodyguard as he was staying in but not Liam’s, as he and Sophia were going down to the pool and needed security themselves. Kat was quite glad she already had mentioned the whole sightseeing thing so there wasn’t any chance of them getting roped into laying out with Sophia -- Kat’s self esteem couldn’t handle another viewing of bathing suit clad Malibu Barbie’s perfection. 

They had lunch with Sophia and Liam at this great little restaurant that took such good care of them, tucking them into a back room so they weren’t bothered at all. They ordered a ton of different kinds of tapas and all shared, everyone arguing about what was the best as they passed the plates around. 

Kat loved hearing all the stories that they all told about the last tour although she felt a bit left out not having been around for any of it. Liam and Sophia clearly had a good friendship going and Kat was hopeful that she and Niall would continue to develop their currently somewhat tentative bond until they had that level of comfort between them. Kat knew that Sophia had been around for over a year at that point and was quite curious as to exactly how long her contract must have been for and made a mental note to ask her about it at some point when they weren’t in public. 

After lunch, Liam and Sophia headed back to the hotel via one car and the other car took Niall and Kat (and their security, of course) to their first, and only, if everything went according to plan, tourist destination of the day: Güell Park, which was a large public park that contained a number of sculptures and works by Antoni Gaudi. In her research, knowing they had limited time, Kat had wanted to see as much as they could but she’d become so fascinated by the park that she ultimately determined that she’d rather they spend a couple of hours there then rush from place to place, not really getting a chance to experience anything as fully as they should. Although that all hinged on whether or not Niall got mobbed while they were at the park -- she had a back up plan of a couple of other places they could go if it got too crazy. Niall seemed content to follow her lead. 

“You and Soph seemed to get along pretty well today, maybe you guys might be able to be friends after all?” he asked as they settled into the back seat of the car, his arm resting on the top of the seat behind her. 

“Yeah, maybe. I mean, I hope.” Realizing she sounded less than excited about the whole thing, she tried to explain where she was coming from. “I do think she’s nice and she’s never been rude to me or anything but I just feel like we’re such vastly different people that I’m not sure there’s much potential there, you know?”

“What do ya mean, how are ya different?”

“Last time I saw her, I really liked her bag so I looked it up online. And, yeah, her purse cost almost as much as my car, we'll just leave it at that. Bit spendy for me.”

“Can’t ya just use some of the money you're getting from Syco to buy whatever ya want?” Niall asked, somewhat missing the point.

Kat looked over at him, surprised that he didn’t know. “I'm not actually getting paid until it's over -- well, I get what amounts to an allowance basically but that's just for food and small stuff -- and even when I do get paid, it's not like I'm getting a fat check or anything, they're just paying off my student loans.”

“Student loans?”

“Yeah, I'm not sure how it works in Ireland or the U.K. but college is super expensive in the U.S. and I, stupidly, went to a private school so I have a correspondingly stupid amount of debt. That honestly I might not pay off until I’m 60 as a teacher as it's not a particularly high paying job. But my parents co-signed my loans so they'd be on the hook for them if I somehow couldn’t pay. Like for instance if I couldn’t find a job, which is exactly where I was before I got this gig. But your management is going to pay them all off at the end of my contract as long as I successfully complete it.”

“Hm.” Niall looked thoughtful.

She looked out the window and squealed. “We're here!”

Hand in hand, they strolled through the park. Niall got asked for a few pictures but overall people kept their distance, making their time there much more enjoyable. Niall in particular was giddy when he pointed it out to her. “I've noticed people leave me alone a lot more when I'm with you. Should’ve got a girlfriend a long time ago, much better goin’ out in public with you.”

“Glad there are some perks for you having me around,” she grumbled, mostly teasing. He slung his arm around her, giving her a half hug, as they continued their exploration. She loved how touchy he was with her when they were out and about, it was easy to pretend for a bit that they were really together.

Later that evening, after they'd gotten back and gone their separate ways to eat and shower (and work out, in Kat's case), Niall and Kat met up with Harry at the hotel bar for some drinks. Kat decided to go the champagne route that evening and to her delight, Harry joined her. Niall stuck with his typical beer, although this time he had a Spanish beer, Moritz, which he let Kat try a drink of and she loved. Which of course made her even more resentful of her diet, had her missing out on delicious beers all over the place (she'd only been dieting for a few days but it felt much, much longer).

An hour and several drinks in, Kat wasn't worried about anything anymore, too busy sharing some of the deep thoughts she had on the band that she hadn't gotten to talk to any of them about when Niall hated her and the rest of them were ignoring her existence. 

“You know what’s really different from you guys and every other boy band in the history of ever? It’s not only the dancing thing, it’s the fact that there’s not one of you that’s anything short of gorgeous,” she proclaimed, sloshing a bit of her drink as she gestured with her hand. “I’m sure no one ever says it because they’d sound like a total asshole, but all the other boy bands had at least one guy, usually two or more guys, who weren’t good looking. Not ugly, maybe, but that fell somewhere in the more normal spectrum of looks. But not you guys, on any given day, any one of you could be the best looking. It’s crazy.”

“I’d rather it be that we were the most talented, that we put out the best music, but best looking’s alright, I guess,” Harry sniffed.

“Well, yeah, you’re that too. Duh.”

“Nope, damage done, Kat. You just think we’re a bunch of pretty faces.”

“Niall, could you help me out here? You know how much I love you guys’ music.”

But Niall wasn't really tracking the conversation, distracted as he looked down at his phone. “What’s that?” he asked, glancing up at them, then continued without waiting for an answer, “Sorry, I’ve gotta go. I have a previous engagement.”

Kat scrunched her face, wondering what the hell he could have an appointment for at that time of night, before it hit her. Of course, he had a hook up coming over. 

“Have a good time, Niall, see ya tomorrow,” Kat said. She could feel Harry’s eyes on her face, clearly concerned about her reaction to Niall’s plans. She hoped he wasn’t being too obvious, she didn’t need Niall cluing into her slight infatuation with him. 

“Oh, I plan on havin’ a good time, Kat, thanks,” he said with an eyebrow waggle. “Sleep tight.” 

Harry and Kat sat in silence for a moment after he’d left, Kat trying not to think or care about the fact that Niall was off to sleep with yet another person that wasn’t her. 

“Alright there, Kat?” Harry asked softly. 

“Everything’s fine,” Kat said, but her voice caught slightly, telling the real story. She cleared her throat. “We should probably get out of here ourselves, don’t need anyone talking.”

As they stood up and gathered their things, Harry asked, “What do you say to crashin’ with me tonight?”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that. You’re sweet, but I’m sure you'd like your own space.”

“Nah, I'd love to hang out with you and you need a good cuddle.”

“God, I do.” Kat exhaled, suddenly exhausted.

“We'll have a good chat. And I don’t sleep well without Lou here, so you’re really doin’ me a favor. Not used to an empty bed.”

“Where is he? I meant to ask earlier but forgot.”

“He’s got a football thing back home. He’ll meet up with us again tomorrow for the show but he left yesterday, so I’ve already had one night of a cold, empty bed and am quite pleased I won’t have to be repeating that tonight.”

Kat stopped by her room in the way back and got changed into her PJs, grabbing her toothbrush, room key, and phone before knocking on Harry’s door. “I'm here for the slumber party?” she said when he appeared in front of her.

“Get in here, right this minute. We have important movie decisions to make,” he said, then grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room. He looked cute and comfy in sweats and an old t-shirt.

They got themselves all settled into Harry’s big bed, scrolling through the movie choices on the TV. They bickered back and forth good naturedly for a bit, before Harry’s gaze focused on her, his mind clearly not on movies anymore.

“Seriously now, you're doin’ good? Louis talked to me about how you were feelin’, he said you told him he could.”

“Yeah, it's cool. I don't mind you knowing, but I don't want you worrying about me or anything. Mostly I'm doing okay. Life in general is so much better now that he's nice to me, it just brought up a new set of challenges. I'm sure I'll get over it.”

Harry nodded, smiling at her. “Like your positive attitude.”

“It’s just really strange, right? I mean, I’ve had more than my fair share of random make outs, but there’s always some sort of emotion there, even if it’s just drunken lust or something. But to have this person that you see all the time, that you kiss with no feeling behind it? It’s really unnatural.”

“So there’s no emotional connection there at all, ya don't think?”

“Nope. Well, maybe a little lust on my part. But that’s hardly my fault. It's seriously just a crush, Harry, no big deal. I’m sure at some point I’ll grow immune to him, right? Like with those vaccines that give you a little bit of the disease and then you can’t get it for real, like, it builds up your resistance, your immunity.” Kat thought about it for a moment, her forehead creased. “Or something like that. I was an elementary ed major, I didn’t really take many science classes in college.”

“That sounds right to me. But I left school when I was quite young though, so I might not be the best person to ask.”

“That’s true, you are kind of an idiot.”

“Hey,” Harry complained.

“I’m so kidding, you know I think you’re brilliant. And sweet. And crazy talented. And handsome, obviously.”

“Alright, you’re forgiven. Now focus, what movie should we watch?”

They finally settled on “Crazy Stupid Love” by mutual agreement. Harry sat with his head propped up a bunch of pillows, with Kat laying on his chest. As he settled his hand on her lower back, getting comfortable, he remarked, “I hadn't really noticed this before, but you and Louis have a similar build. ‘Cept you've got tits, of course.”

“Thanks for noticing,” Kat said dryly. “As for Lou and I being built the same, coming from you, I’m going to take that as a serious compliment. It’s the bubble butt, isn’t it?” Kat had noted previously that she and Louis were similarly blessed in the bottom region.

Harry nodded. “That's the main thing, yeah, but your legs and just overall shape are alike. Obviously I think he's quite fit so you're right in taking it positively.”

“Thanks, bub. I think you're alright as well.” She nuzzled into his chest as the film began.

When the movie was over and they'd settled into bed, the really interesting part of the night began for Kat. Harry Styles, she discovered, was quite the cuddler. Perhaps a bit too much for Kat’s taste but it was very sweet. The problem was, he was like a man-shaped space heater and she was way too hot with him pressed up against her. 

And there was just so much skin; he'd warned her before she'd agreed to stay that he usually slept naked but would make an exception and sleep with underwear for her sake. Underwear or not, she couldn’t comfortably touch him to move him away without feeling like she was practically molesting him in his sleep.

Plus, she wasn't used to sleeping with anyone anymore, let alone a human furnace koala’d onto her side, so, yeah, altogether it didn't make for the most restful night of sleep she'd ever had. But Harry seemed to sleep like a baby, so the night was successful from that point of view. And she really had had a great time talking with him and watching the movie, he was a great listener and friend. 

Just maybe not the best person to share a bed with, unless you were Louis.

Disregarding the fact that she was still rather tired, Kat's life truly was immeasurably better than it had been a month before. Now, instead of counting down the days until she got to go home, she was actually kind of sad thinking about when she'd have to leave after Jay and Dan’s wedding in a week. And if the worst thing she had to deal with at the moment was a less than restful night of sleep because she shared a bed with one of the biggest pop stars in the world while simultaneously torturing herself over an unrequited crush on said pop stars’ band mate, well, Kat hardly felt like she had much to complain about. 

When he finally woke up, Kat discovered that Harry looked just as gorgeous first thing in the morning as he did every other time of the day, which was no real surprise. But as she'd been up for longer than him, she found herself anxious to get back to her own space and she bounced out of bed almost immediately after his eyes popped open.

“Want me to order us up some breakfast?” Harry asked, his voice even raspier than normal. His eyes tracked her around the room, smiling at her early morning energy.

“Nah, I’ll just get something in my room if that’s okay. Might get in a workout too. Thanks though.” Kat knew she needed to take it super easy on the food front after the prior day’s excesses -- she’d went a bit wild with the tapas at lunch.

“You should workout with me, I could use a partner. Niall sometimes rides his Segway by me when I run, but it’s not really the same thing.” Harry sat up and stretched, swinging his legs over to the side of the bed.

“You mean you actually get to run outside? That would be amazing. I’m dying on the treadmill -- no matter how great my playlist is, it’s still boring as hell.”

“So you’re running more regularly now?” Harry asked, no doubt recalling the one and only time they’d worked out together before and how she’d commented that it might just be a one off. “How far do you usually go?”

“I’ve been doing about five miles a session, sometimes more if I have time.”

“Good God. I hope I can keep up. You a big runner normally, then?”

“Yeah, I’m a distance runner. I did cross country and track in high school and my first year of college before I got burnt out. But I haven’t run that much lately, only started back up again recently.”

“You running every day now?”

“Um, mostly. When I can, you know how it goes.” Kat wasn’t about to tell him about her twice daily workout habit as she was sure he wouldn’t approve. It was only temporary though, until she got some weight off.

“‘This time I’m ready to run,’” Harry sang as he walked her to the door. 

“I don’t think I know that one, who sings it?” Kat asked.

“Us. It’s on the new album.”

“So when do I get to hear the whole thing? I heard ‘18’ and ‘Fool’s Gold’ when Liam and Niall were redoing their bits.”

“I haven’t even heard the whole thing so I’m not sure. Soon though, it’s got to be all ready to come out in November. Back to the point though, we’ll start runnin’ outside tomorrow in Madrid, how does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect. And thanks again for letting me stay. This is exactly what I needed. You’re seriously the best.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. I had fun, too.”

Harry grabbed the door, holding it open while she walked out and stepping out into the hall after her, carefully keeping the door from locking behind him as he pulled her into a hug. Kat gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and stepped away, then halted in her tracks when she saw Niall and some girl, a pretty brunette, staring at them from a couple of doors down, where they’d apparently been saying their own goodbyes. It was hard to say from their faces exactly which one of them was more flabbergasted. 

Oh, _fuck_.

Harry started to laugh, a massive honking sound that she hadn’t heard before bursting out of him. Kat, eyes wide, looked up at him for a couple of seconds before she cracked up herself, feeling slightly hysterical. Panicking, she pushed Harry back and ducked under his arm into the relative safety of his room. Glancing back, she saw Harry waving over at Niall and his friend and calling out a cheerful “good morning!” before he followed her back into the room, still laughing and holding his stomach. 

“Oh my God, oh my God. This is bad, isn’t it? What if she says something? Oh my God.” Kat paced back and forth across the carpet.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look good. But I’m sure anyone that Niall’s sleeping with is discrete, there’s no reason to think she’ll tell anyone about this. But God, it’s funny just the same.

“Did Niall look pissed? I mean, obviously the girl knows that Niall and I aren’t real but that doesn’t mean she needs to know that you and I slept together!”

Harry cocked his head at her word choice. “Well, we _did_ sleep together and she _did_ see it, so nothin’ to be done for it.” 

“Ugh, you know what I meant about the sleeping together thing. Fuck.” Kat flopped onto the bed.

A knock on the door prevented any further discussion, Harry going to answer it while Kat continued to lay immobile on the bed with her eyes closed, trying not to fret about Niall’s reaction to the entire thing. 

“You always gotta be half naked, don’t ya, Haz? That did not help the situation at all,” Niall said after Harry let him in, his voice sounding amused, which was a good sign.

Kat cracked open one eye. “So what’s the good word, Nialler? Is she going straight to the press with the story of how Harry and I are hooking up behind your back?” She put the back of her hand to her brow. “I just couldn’t resist him, I’m so sorry I wasn’t faithful to you. Although less sorry now that I know that you were cheating on me at the same time. So maybe we’re even?” She let her eyes flutter shut again, feeling relieved that Niall didn’t seem upset.

A heavy weight promptly crashed onto her body, practically smothering her. “What the --? What the fuck, Horan, get off me? Oh my God, you’re heavy!”

Ignoring her, Niall looked over at Harry. “What do ya say, Harry, threesome? If we’re gonna get accused of it, might as well have a little fun, right?” He buried his face in Kat’s neck, blowing a sloppy raspberry on her skin, while she squirmed underneath him, feeling light headed from all the contact with him and the fact that he was crushing her lungs. 

Before she could put up any more of a fight, Niall rolled off, laying next to her. “Ya alright? Didn’t really mean to hurt ya. And no, she’s not gonna say anythin’, we’re all good. Gotta say, though, I was almost as shocked as she was. I did not expect to see that this mornin’. Or any mornin’ really.”

Harry started laughing again. “The look on both of your faces was priceless. God, I wish I’d had my camera.”

“Couldn’t believe me eyes, me best mate and me girl, caught in each other’s arms. Heartbreakin’.”

Kat crinkled up her nose, sniffing her own shirt, before leaning over and smelling Niall. She recoiled immediately after. “Jesus Niall, you totally reek like sex and you got it all over me. Didn't you shower? Gross.”

“Haven't had a chance yet, sorry, darlin’.” His wide grin did not look in the least apologetic. “And clearly you're just jealous, Katherine.” He poked her arm teasingly.

Kat flushed but fought back. “Well, yes, I am a bit jealous of you and anyone else that's getting to have sex on the regular. It's been ages for me -- if I'd thought this through better, I would have totally gone on a sex spree before signing the damn contract. But being as this was my first go ‘round at the whole fake girlfriend thing, I clearly wasn't thinking. T minus 10 months until I can have sex again, not that I'm counting.”

“Ten months? I'd die,” Niall said, sounding appalled at the thought.

“Not helping, Niall, not helping. Harry, you have anything supportive to contribute here?”

“Sorry, I'd never make it 10 months either. It's tough when Louis and I are in different places for a couple weeks, never mind that long. When's the last time you slept with someone?”

“Not counting you?”

“Not counting me. You were marvelous by the way.” He blew her a kiss.

Kat caught it and tucked it in her pocket. Niall snorted at their antics. “Thanks, you too. And, uh, let me think… God, I think it was like February or something? This girl I met at the bar, pretty much a one night thing. Hot though.” She paused, continuing to think about it. “No, wait, think I hooked up after that with an ex -- if we run into each other when we're both single, we usually end up going home together. And I think that was a couple weeks after Stacey, so yeah, he was the last one. At least it was good sex.”

“Sounds really good, you almost forgot it happened,” Niall responded, nudging her hip.

“Well, he didn't really count, he was a rerun. Which is why I forgot,” she rationalized. 

Niall snorted again. “Rerun? Nice.”

“Well, as sex with someone you’ve already slept with doesn’t up your number, thus the rerun -- not that I care all that much about that but I do keep track just the same -- it’s easier to forget one of those instances. And it was good, no reason for me to lie about it now, to you guys. I just don’t think it was good enough to sustain me for over a year.”

Harry, feeling bad for her, tried to help out. “You could always call him up when you’re home, as long as you trust him not to say anythin’, no reason ya really need to hold out for so long. I know you don’t want to mess up your contract but as long as no one knows, you’re fine.”

“Not a bad idea, my friend. We’ll see how desperate I get.” Kat’s eyes darted over to Niall, wondering if he was going to make any snide comments about her kissing Dan but he just raised his eyebrows at her, not really engaging in this part of the conversation. Clearly he wasn’t interested in weighing in on her sex life, which was fine with her. She wished she could be similarly removed from knowing about his. 

If fact, if she never had to hear about another person that he slept with for the rest of her life, that would be just fine with her. 

*

Before Kat knew it, the last bit of the European leg of the tour was done. Time had flown for Kat -- as she’d suspected earlier, it became perfectly clear that Niall had asked his bandmates to hang out with her, as they seemed to have created a rotating schedule of who would do something with her each night. So she watched super hero movies with Zayn and Liam and got crushed playing FIFA with Louis another evening. It was like she had four brothers to hang out with in addition to whatever comparable relationship Niall was to her in the real world (as she couldn’t think of him as her brother, what with the kissing they did on the regular and the small matter of her being smitten with him).

Kat had a bit of a mortifying moment with Liam one day at the concert venue in Portugal, when he’d walked in on her and Dan trying to have a normal conversation. Liam arrived just in time to hear the tail end of her story about the park they’d seen in Barcelona, which she was delivering with way more enthusiasm than the story warranted, simply because she felt so uncomfortable around Dan after everything that had happened.

Likely feeling the same way, Dan took Liam’s appearance as his excuse to exit, leaving Kat and Liam by themselves at a table in Sarah’s Kitchen. 

“Couldn’t help but notice a little tension between you and Dan. You interested in him?”

“What? God, no.”

“That’s good. ‘M sure there’s a non-fraternization clause in your contract anyway, it’s pretty standard. Wouldn’t want you to lose your job over it, not that Dan isn’t great.”

“Non-fraternization clause?” Kat asked weakly.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re barred from hooking up or sleeping with anyone but Niall. Would be grounds for termination.”

“Oh, that’s … interesting. Not that there’s anything to worry about with me. I promise, nothing is going to happen between me and Dan. Seriously.” Nothing more, that was. She tried not to overemphasize the word ‘is’ in her sentence, but was careful to include it as she didn’t want to lie. Jesus, why couldn’t Liam have talked to her about this a few weeks ago? 

And then she was on yet another plane, this time home to Mullingar with Niall. Kat tried not to let her nerves get the best of her; she’d already met a large portion of his family and they’d been nothing but nice, no reason to think it wouldn’t be a nice time. 

And it was only two nights/three days, she could handle anything for that amount of time.

Positive attitude firmly in place, Kat chatted with Niall from the comfort of their first class seats on the plane. “You're coming home with me next, did you hear?” Marnie had sent her a text confirming her flight home the day after Jay and Dan’s wedding and surprising her with the new information that Niall would be stopping by Lincoln a couple of days before their North American tour began. She hoped he was okay with it, she knew how little free time he got and felt bad he’d have to waste some of it by acting out their whole dating charade, complete with his and her hometown dates, just like on “The Bachelor.”

“I did hear that. Ya gonna show me the sights?” he asked, one side of his mouth quirking up.

Kat gave him a mock dirty look. “You better not be acting like Nebraska’s got nothing going on. It’s a beautiful place, I’ll have you know.”

“I’m sure, but just wait until ya see Mullingar, you’ll understand why I don’t think any other place compares to it. It’s just the best. All you’ve seen of Ireland was Dublin and not much of that, even.”

“Hmph.”

Niall continued on, ignoring her grumping, “We’re actually gonna stay with me mate in Dublin the second night. He’s got a couple of guest rooms so we should be all set. But on to Mullingar today, then we’ll see my mam and Chris tomorrow, then back to Dublin. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure, whatever is fine with me. This trip is all about you.” Niall had already told her their basic schedule, that they’d be seeing family first (including seeing Theo, which had Kat very excited. She’d bought a few of her favorite kids’ books for him as gifts, so she could read to him, planning to revert back to her early MO of hanging out with the kids when things got awkward), then meeting up with his friends for drinks the second night.

Someone must have tipped fans off that Niall was flying in, because the airport was packed and it was total mayhem when they were heading to their hired car. A couple of airport security officials were escorting them through, but it really wasn’t enough and people were surrounding them entirely.

As they continued on through the concourse, Kat smacked into Niall’s back when he suddenly halted. Peering around him, she could see on his face that something wasn’t right but didn’t know what was bothering him. Regardless, she figured the billion people surrounding them couldn’t be helping the situation, so she grabbed onto his hand even more tightly and took the lead, pulling him after her, all but running to the waiting car.

Once they were safely inside, she asked, “Are you okay? You looked sick there for a minute.” She handed him her bottle of water, figuring he wouldn’t care right then that she’d already drank from it. 

She was right, as he took it from her with a quick “thanks” and took a drink.

He handed the bottle back to her and tilted his head back on the seat. Now that they weren’t moving, she could see that he was sweating, which wasn’t really warranted by the weather. “Yeah, ‘m okay now, thanks to you. Get a bit claustrophobic, was too many people in a small space for me there. Thanks for gettin’ me out of there -- I sometimes freeze up when it happens and can’t really help meself.”

“You’re welcome. That was … a lot. Not surprised that would bother a claustrophobic person. I don’t really consider myself one but it was still overwhelming.” She kept talking, wanting to ask him questions to both distract and give him a chance to relax. “It’ll be better when we leave, right? Seems like they can always better sneak you guys in when we’re departing.”

“Yep, should be.” 

They set off on their way to Mullingar, Niall driving and Kat manning the music via her iPhone. Their taste in music was very similar so there were very few disagreements from Niall about her song selections. 

And Niall was right, the Irish countryside was insanely gorgeous. She drank in the view the entire way, Niall pointing out different spots and telling stories about his childhood. The hour flew by and before she knew it, they were pulling into Niall’s childhood home. 

Where there seemed to be a large group of girls standing around. Niall gave her a knowing look when she gasped as they started screaming when they saw it was Niall in the vehicle.

“See, I told ya. Everytime I come home, there’re fans waitin’ for me on the street. Don’t want to be rude to ‘em, but I just want ta see me da, not sign a hundred autographs.”

Kat narrowed her eyes, suddenly full of resolve. “I’m going to pull the girlfriend card and insist you just take one group picture and nothing more. They won’t be mad at you, just at me. And likely they already hate me anyway, simply for being with you.”

“That would be amazin’ but I don’t know if they’ll go for it. I’m willin’ to try whatever you’d like though.”

True to her word, Kat put herself between Niall and the fans as soon as she got out of the car and asked if it would be okay if he just did one group shot as she was anxious to see his family, who she could see looking out the front window. She played up the whole nervous girlfriend angle and they seemed to buy it, although she did hear a few grumbles as they were walking away. She didn’t care, as long as Niall didn’t have to stand there and take picture after picture, particularly after his near panic attack at the airport not all that much earlier that day. The poor guy deserved a break for once.

Niall’s family was as sweet as she’d remembered them. His dad was so, so proud of him, which was adorable to watch, although it clearly embarrassed Niall. Kat got to meet more of Niall’s extended family, including his granny, and everyone treated her with such kindness. Theo loved the books she’d gotten him, particularly “Dragons Love Tacos,” which she had to read to him three times (thankfully, she liked the book as well). Mid-afternoon, she and Niall escaped for a bit and he showed her around town, driving her by his schools and friend’s houses. It was a great reminder that despite his fame and fortune, he really wasn’t all that much different from anyone else.

Kat had been slightly nervous about their accommodations for the night but she needn’t have been. The hotel Niall had booked for them, the Annebrook House Hotel, was lovely and she was relieved when they entered the room to find it had two bedrooms and a living room area. Niall had clearly made every effort to make her comfortable. 

The next day was more of the same, although they had to travel a bit to get to Niall’s mom and step-father’s house. They had lunch and a relaxing afternoon there before they hit the road, back to Dublin. 

Kat noticed that it was so much easier being around everyone now that she and Niall were friends -- it didn’t really feel like they were faking so much anymore, as they genuinely liked each other, at least as friends if not romantically (well, he didn’t like her romantically at least). She didn’t have to stress out about whether or not anyone would believe they were really together, as she was pretty certain they’d fool pretty much anyone at that point.

Feeling energized by successfully completing the most difficult part of the trip home with Niall, Kat felt ready to go when he said they were just going directly to meet up with his friends at the bar. Or mates at the pub if you were Irish, whatever.

Niall had on a newsboy cap (that he looked painfully cute in) and tugged it slightly lower as they entered the bar, looking down as much as he could while still managing to walk safely. Kat wished she knew what the people they were meeting looked like so she could be of some use, instead she was just dead weight at the end of Niall’s arm. The place wasn’t too busy, though, and no one seemed to be paying them any attention, at least not yet. 

A loudish “oi, chief” from the back of the bar caught their attention and Kat looked to see a tall man waving them down. One look at Niall’s face confirmed this was one of his mates; he had a huge grin on his face that made Kat smile just seeing it.

Kat’s smile lasted through the two guys’ hello hug, which involved a lot of verbal jabs, laughter, and back slapping. Eventually, Niall turned to her. “This is me mate, Niall Breslin, but you can call him Bressie. He’s from Mullingar as well, lives here in Dublin now. We’re stayin’ with him tonight. Bres, this is Kat Hamilton.”

 _Well, hello_ , Kat thought as she was able to fully take in the tall, dark, and handsome gentleman in front of her. What she actually said was, “uh, hi,” because she was, as always, one smooth motherfucker.

“Hi, yourself. It’s great to meet ya, heard good things,” he said, then engulfed her hand in his enormous meaty paw. Kat felt like the temperature in the room kicked up about 10 degrees upon touching him. She knew she was staring but she couldn’t help it. 

Bressie got them set up at the table and drinks ordered -- Kat going the beer route as the place didn’t look like a champagne sort of establishment. Once that was done, Bressie excused himself to use the restroom.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Niall gave her an elbow to the ribs. “Haven’t seen you this tongue tied since Mayer.”

“Yeah,” Kat sighed, not even trying to be cool, resting her chin on her hand as she watched Bressie leave the room.

“That your type then?” Niall asked, squinting at her.

“I think he’s everyone’s type.”

Kat found that not only was Bressie incredibly attractive, he was also smart and hilarious as well. He and Niall had a great relationship, constantly teasing each other good naturedly. They were joined later in the night by another friend, Eoghan, who, while not as show-stoppingly handsome, was equally hilarious and good company. She had to give it to Niall, he had some pretty awesome friends.

Niall kept his hand on the back of her chair and periodically rubbed her shoulders lightly with his thumb, completely distracting her every time he did, so much so that she had to struggle not to lose the thread of the conversation. As the night went on, he took to running his whole hand over her back, sometimes sliding it up under her hair and lightly grasping her neck. Altogether it was thoroughly unsettling.

After one such moment, Kat tuned out for a minute, trying to distract herself by thinking about home and her family and friends and what she might be doing on a typical night there. When she tried to pay attention to the conversation again, she found she couldn’t -- she couldn’t even understand what they were saying, as apparently all of their accents got thicker and thicker the more they talked to each other and the more they drank. 

“What’s that look about, Kat?” Eoghan asked, watching as her gaze ping ponged between Niall and Bressie.

Kat started laughing, not even feeling bad she got caught. Her face must have shown her bewilderment-slash-bemusement. “I can’t understand you guys -- I zoned out for like a second and when I came back to, your accents were so thick it was like you were speaking another language!”

Bressie looked slightly abashed. “Yeah, that happens. Sorry about that, get a couple of Mullingar men together -- sorry, Eoghan, and a Dubliner -- and we get more and more Irish by the minute.”

“It’s fine, as long as I stay focused, I’m good. Need to make sure I don’t get too drunk though or I’ll be totally lost.”

Little did Kat know that they would take that as a challenge but she managed to hold her own, although she eventually turned down the shots they were giving her when she knew she was close to her limit. 

Kat fell asleep/passed out shortly after they got back to Bressie’s apartment, after promising Bres that she’d join him on his morning run, but woke up around 3 desparate for a glass of water. She padded on stockinged feet out to the kitchen to find the man himself with his head stuck in the fridge. Before she could abort her mission and duck back into her bedroom, he spotted her and called her over.

“What can I get for ya?”

Kat tried not to worry about how she must have looked, no makeup and messy hair. Bressie, for his part, looked even more edible than he had before, even dressed in athletic shorts and a thin, worn t-shirt. “Was just coming out for a glass of water, for some strange reason I woke up incredibly thirsty? Can’t imagine why though,” Kat joked.

“That is strange.” Bressie quirked a brow at her, pulling out a pitcher of water from the refrigerator and pouring them each a massive glass, which she accepted from him gratefully, gulping from hers before he’d even managed to put the pitcher away.

He took a drink from his own cup as they stood across from each other in his dimly lit kitchen. “I didn’t even get a chance to get to know ya at all tonight, Kat, sorry ‘bout that. Us lads don’t always get to see each other much, what with how busy we all are, so it’s hard to get a word in edgewise when we’re together. What do you do in the real world?”

“I just graduated from college, actually, with my teaching degree. I’d like to teach first grade but as of right now, I’m just on the list for substitute teaching jobs this fall when school starts up again back home. Hoping I can get a job for next year though.”

“I’ll be hopin’ for ya too, then. And how are ya dealin’ with everythin’ that must come along with bein’ Niall’s girlfriend? His level of fame is somethin’ else, don’t know how he does it.”

“I don’t know how he does it either, but he makes it look easy. But, um, I’m fine. It’s all good.”

Bressie fixed her with a knowing look. 

She sighed. “I am fine, I just really had no clue what I was getting myself into when I agreed to do this. It’s just all … a lot. It’s a lot. I’m just not cut out to be a famous person’s girlfriend -- my skin’s too thin, I guess. Which is pretty much the only thin thing on me, ba dum ching,” she said, miming a drum roll.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t weigh more ‘n one of me legs, I’d imagine.”

Kat laughed. “I like you.”

Bressie opened up the fridge again and looked around. “Are you a fan of cold Chinese food, Kat? Before you answer, keep in mind this may be a deal breaker with our new friendship.”

“I’m definitely a fan but I’m not particularly hungry right now. Got a full tum from all that Guinness still.” She patted her stomach.

Bressie turned towards her suddenly, eyes narrowed. “You gettin’ grief from anyone about your weight?”

Kat felt her face immediately heat up. “Wha--? No no no.” This was bad, this was very bad. She decided to try to flip his question to her advantage, even if she knew it wasn’t exactly fair to him. “You saying you think I’m fat, Bressie? Ouch.”

“Fuck no, I’m not sayin’ that at all. Just know that women in the public eye are always gettin’ torn down for how they look, wanted to be sure you weren’t havin’ any problems with that shite.”

“You’re sweet, but I’m fine.” Kat leaned back on the counter, placing her hands on the edge while she contemplated if she had enough oomph in her legs at that moment to successfully jump up on it. Before she thought about it too much, she realized she shouldn’t even try, regardless, as maybe Bres was anal about his kitchen and wouldn’t want her butt on his nice granite.

She’d just dropped her hands down when Bressie stepped in close to her, putting his hands on her hips. “Ya want up? Saw ya thinkin’ about it.”

Kat gulped and nodded, internally screaming about the fact that his hands almost circled her waist. Talk about making a girl feel dainty, which is exactly what she needed given she was currently on a employer-required diet. Bressie lifted her like she was nothing, placing her bottom safely on the cold stone surface. 

She hissed at the contact, particularly chilly where her sleep shorts stopped and the bare skin on the back of her thighs touched the counter. Noting her discomfort, Bres left his hands on her waist and stayed between her legs, lifting his eyebrows in question. “Ya want down?”

Kat was just ready to tell him that she was fine when a voice interrupted them.

“You guys havin’ a party out here without me?”

Kat jumped slightly, startled by the intrusion. “Oh, I’m sorry if we woke you up. I just came out for some water and Bressie was already here doing the same.” Kat noticed that Bressie didn’t step back from where he was or pull his arms away, which of course he shouldn’t as there was no reason for him to act guilty. Kat was the only one who should feel bad about her impure thoughts.

“Ya don’t have to cover for me, Kat. I was out gettin’ some food and I was tryin’ to entice Kat here into eatin’ some leftovers with me.” He looked back at her, moving his hands to rest on her knees. “Ya okay up there now? Your arse sufficiently warmed up?”

“Yeah, I’m all good now, thanks,” she said with a weak smile. 

With her all sorted, Bres turned back around and headed towards the fridge again. “Know you’ll eat with me, though, isn’t that right, chief?”

Kat smiled at the contrast between the two as they both poked around in the containers Bres had put out on the counter. They were, at least physically, about as dissimilar as two guys could be -- Bressie tall, broad, and dark haired, Niall a good half foot plus shorter with his (albeit fake) blonde hair sticking out wildly from his head. Their builds weren’t really all that different though, Kat noticed as she looked between them, as they both had broad shoulders and narrow waists, Niall was just a miniaturized version of his friend. She hadn't really thought of Niall as all that small before as he was so much taller than she was, but seeing him next to Bres made her realize he wasn't a big guy at all. Both were too handsome for words though, so they certainly had that in common. 

Kat excused herself from their makeshift meal and went back to bed, but was up bright and early for her morning run with Bressie. She had to really hoof it to keep up with his long legged stride, but it made for a hell of a workout. They both woke Niall up when they got back, jumping on his bed, forcing him to get up and dressed so they could go grab brunch before their flight back to London. 

Between his family’s obvious approval and the way she’d clicked with his friends from home, Kat left Ireland feeling more confident than she had in a long time. She might not be half bad at this whole fake girlfriend thing. 

*

The problem was that while Kat felt great about how she and Niall’s relationship was going, both the fake one for the public and their real, private one, she also worried that in seeing more of his background and where he’d come from, she’d fallen even more under Niall’s spell.

In an effort to distract herself from this new underlying tension she felt around Niall following their quasi-romantic trip to his hometown, Kat decided to try to learn more about Bressie, Niall’s fantastically gorgeous friend, via a little research on her laptop. She discovered that he was a celebrity in his own right: a musician, both solo and as part of a band, a host on the Irish version of The Voice, had played professional rugby, and, disappointingly, had a girlfriend that had been a Miss Universe candidate, which, while upsetting, made total sense. Also explained how in tune he was with the pressure women tend to get to look perfect all the time.

Niall poked his head into her open door. “You’re listening to The Blizzards?”

Kat willed herself not to blush but she doubted she was successful. “Um, yeah? I just wanted to see what their music was like, you’d said that Bressie had a band.”

“I don’t think I did mention that.”

“Sure you did,” Kat said decisively. 

Niall shook his head just as decisively. “No, no, I didn’t.”

“Well, someone did.”

Niall gave her a knowing look. “Kat, are you internet creepin’ on me mate?”

“In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I totally hate you.” With a couple clicks on the keyboard, her speakers switched from The Blizzards to The Wanted, who, Kat had discovered via her internet research (NOT stalking), One Direction had got in a bit of a Twitter scuffle with the year prior. 

Niall shook his head at her. “You’re somethin’ else, Hamilton.”

“Why, thank you very much, Mr. Horan. I still hate you, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter this time, about 5,400 words (which pushes the whole thing over 100K, yikes!)
> 
> Thank you so much for all the nice comment and kudos, really really REALLY appreciate them (did I mention that I really appreciate them? b/c I do)! 
> 
> Next chapter will be coming at you pretty shortly, it's almost ready to go as well

“Hot damn, Horan, you look incredible. I can say that now, can’t I?” Kat was literally stunned by Niall’s appearance. They were in Manchester, getting ready to leave for Louis’ mom Jay and her fiancé Dan’s wedding, and Kat had emerged from her room in their hotel suite to find Niall all dressed up and looking phenomenal. He had on a black two button suit with a striped shirt and a dark green tie. And he looked positively edible.

He laughed. “Ya always coulda said that.”

“I’d have thought it before but would never have said anything like that to you, wouldn’t have wanted to give you the satisfaction.”

“So I don’t look like a, what was it, ‘fuck boy’ in this?” he asked, smirking at her.

Kat’s face heated up. “Uh, sorry?”

“Don’t be, I deserved it, I was bein’ a dick.” 

“But no, you don’t look like a fuck boy at present. Although fuck boy doesn’t necessarily mean not hot, sadly. As much as I hate to admit it, there can be overlap between the two.”

“Ya ready to go?”

“Yep, let me just grab my gift.” She turned to head back to her room, but paused when Niall spoke.

“Ya got them a present?”

“Well, I made them something. I figured they didn’t really need the typical household stuff, being older and all, and I don’t know if English people do a wedding registry or anything, but I didn’t want to come empty handed. It was nice of them to let me come. Although I don’t know how much choice they had, I guess. I mean, Eleanor’s in the wedding party, I’m thinking they didn’t have complete control over the guest list.”

“Ya didn’t have to get them anythin’ -- I got them a gift, put your name on the card.”

“That’s nice of you, but no worries. The gift’s not a big deal but hopefully they like it.”

“What did ya make?” Niall asked curiously.

“You’re probably envisioning some nightmare with popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners, but I promise, it’s quite cute, if I do say so myself. It’s a framed cross stitch of basically stick figure versions of Jay and Dan with their names and wedding date. I got the pattern off Etsy. D’you know Etsy? It’s this website where people sell all kinds of different handcrafted stuff? Anyway, I asked Louis to find out what his mom and Dan were wearing to make it sort of accurate. I’m doing a shit job of explaining this, I took a picture on my phone, hold on, I’ll show you.” Kat pulled out her phone and scrolled back to find the right picture.

He took her phone, nodding as he looked it over. “That’s actually really cool.”

“Don’t sound so surprised. But thanks. I hope they like it.”

“Don’t see how they couldn’t.” He looked her over from his closer vantage point, seeming to notice her appearance for the first time. “Ya look really nice, Kat, I’m gonna have the hottest date there.”

Kat tried not to visibly preen at his words. She did feel like she was looking good, she had on a kind of retro-looking knee length black dress, with a sleeveless fitted top that was sheer with black swiss dots on the upper portion and a kicky flared skirt (that had pockets!), paired with some fun bright blue heels. Management had sent over several options but this one had called out to her immediately. “Nope, not a chance. That’ll be me, thank you very much.”

“Will ya listen to us, can’t stop with the compliments.” He handed her back her phone. “Okay, go grab your stuff and let’s hit the road. Basil’s ready when we are.”

*

The ceremony was held in a lovely old church and Jay looked absolutely gorgeous, her dress was fabulous and she was just glowing, clearly so happy and in love. And Dan couldn’t keep the smile off his face, beaming with joy every time he looked at his bride. Kat loved that Jay’s daughters were all part of the wedding party and they all looked so pretty and grown up.

Kat should have predicted it after her astonishment at seeing Niall, but her first opportunity seeing four of the five members of One Direction dressed up did not disappoint. Niall had already told her that Zayn wasn’t coming as he had a really hard time being around Liam and Sophia when they were in full-on public couple mode, which Kat didn’t blame him for in the slightest. Kat was sure that Harry felt the same way about Eleanor but there was no way he’d miss Jay’s wedding. 

The four of them that were there, though, looked phenomenal, each dressed to suit their personality. Louis, who was, of course, in the wedding party like his sisters, was wearing a dark blue suit that matched the one Dan was wearing, and it showcased Lou’s ass in an amazing (and practically indecent) way. He had his hair slicked back and up (which Kat learned was called a quiff, a term that clearly had not hit America yet), looking very dapper. Liam looked like a sexy secret agent in a black three piece suit and tie, with Sophia looking like his partner on an undercover mission in a slinky black dress. 

And Harry. Harry was dressed in the most Harry outfit imaginable: a gorgeous black suit, black silk shirt unbuttoned to roughly his belly button, a black printed scarf, and a black hat. On him, it totally worked but Kat teased him that she was surprised God didn’t hit him with a lightening bolt, wearing an outfit like that into a church. 

Harry and Liam’s parents were there, as was their hair stylist Lou and some of Louis’ friends that Kat had met previously, so although it was by far the nicest ceremony and reception she’d ever been to, it felt somewhat like a wedding back home with all the familiar faces.

The reception was held on the grounds of the hotel where they were all staying. Tables were sprinkled throughout the grass and a large tent was set up for the dancing that would begin later in the evening. Jay and Dan had rented out the hotel entirely for the wedding guests so there wasn’t any risk of anyone not associated with the event making their way into the festivities. 

Although that didn’t mean that there weren’t opportunities for people to sneak a peak.

Kat was standing with Niall, Liam, and Sophia, enjoying a drink in the bright sunshine when she spotted something across the street. “Are there seriously photographers just camped out over there? God, that's insane. Poor Jay and Dan.”

Sophia looked over as well, while Liam and Niall seemed uninterested, or perhaps they’d already spotted them as they were used to being on the lookout for such things. “Looks like it’s not just paparazzi either, I can see a lot of teenagers as well,” Sophia commented, looking as unimpressed as Kat felt.

“Sheesh, what a waste of an afternoon. They can’t even see you guys from that distance, without the huge camera lenses that the paps have, so what’s the point?” Kat wondered, just as Eleanor and Lottie joined their group, El immediately pulling Sophia off to the side and whispering something in her ear. 

“Lottie, look at you, you're gorgeous! I just love your hair,” Kat gushed. Lottie looked more sophisticated and put together at 15 then Kat felt like she did at 22. “And your makeup is amazing.”

“Thanks, I did it myself. I did all the wedding party,” Lottie said proudly.

“Shut up, that’s incredible. Even your mom’s?” Lottie nodded. “I’m going to need you to help me out sometime, I could use some serious lessons. I pretty much finally just mastered eye liner this year after a decade of trial and error, mostly error.”

Kat found out that Lottie would be coming to several of the US shows, making Kat all that much more excited for the next leg of the tour. Lottie promised that they’d spend some time trying out some new makeup tricks as long as Kat agreed to go shopping and sightseeing with her, an easy agreement for Kat to make. Lottie also confided in her that her sister Daisy had once had a huge crush on Niall, so Kat said she’d have Niall ask her to dance later.

Lottie tugged Kat along with her as she made her rounds at the party. She introduced Kat to her extended family, which included her incredibly adorable and jolly grandfather, who made her promise to save him a dance. Kat got to see the bride herself and give her a congratulatory hug and tell her in person what a wonderful wedding it was and how beautiful she looked. 

After she was done talking with Jay, Fizzy, the second oldest Tomlinson daughter, asked Kat to come with her to the restroom, needing someone to help secure her half updo, as she worried it was getting loose in the back. Kat twisted the pins back in until she felt like there was little to no chance of it coming undone, making sure it was still comfortable for Fiz, as she’d had enough updos in her life to know that nothing was worse than an errant bobby pin poking your skull the entire night.

As Fizzy went in a stall to actually use the bathroom, Kat stood and looked over her outfit in the full length mirror. While she’d gotten compliments on her dress from Louis’ sisters and Jay, she’d started to second guess her choice. Compared to Sophia and Lou (who was dressed in a fitted black suit with a sheer shirt and only what looked like a black bra underneath that), Kat felt like she was dressed like a little girl, although at least she'd gotten the black part right. Kat still liked the dress, she did, she just wondered if she really looked the part of a famous person’s girlfriend. 

As they came back outside and she and Fizzy parted ways, Kat scanned the crowd for Niall, eventually spotting him standing over by Sophia, looking at something she was showing him on her phone. Kat watched them for a moment, something clicking into place in her mind. Rather than heading over to Niall, she joined Liam at his table.

“Can I ask you a question, Liam?”

“Course.”

“I know this really isn’t my business but ... did something happen between Niall and Sophia? Or is something still currently happening?”

Liam looked caught and Kat knew what he was going to say before the words left his mouth. “You’re --”

“... going to have to ask Niall about that.” She finished for him. “Jesus, sometimes I really hate that you guys are all such good friends to each other.”

Liam smiled at her, eyes crinkled, so ridiculously handsome in his black suit that Kat couldn’t even really be mad at him. He slung an arm around her shoulder. “Not going to apologize for that, am I? C’mon, let’s go get a drink.”

Niall came and found her not long after that. “Do ya wanna play croquet?”

“Sure, that sounds fun.”

“Let me guess, you’re a professional croquet player as well as a scratch golfer,” Niall guessed as they headed over to the area of the lawn where a croquet court had been set up for guests to use.

“Sheesh, not anywhere close to a scratch golfer. Closer than you, I suppose but still …” He pushed at her, but grabbed onto her elbow to make sure she didn’t stumble. “And I’m alright at croquet, but I only play it once a year usually, at my family’s annual 4th of July party. Which I obviously missed this year, so I’m probably a bit rusty.”

“Sure you’ll be great.”

“I will warn you though, I’m quite ruthless.”

“That doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

Much to Kat’s chagrin, Niall actually beat her. She tried to blame her poor play on her heels but finally conceded that he'd beaten her fair and square. She’d still been way better than Liam, so there was some consolation in that.

Later that evening, after they’d all ate and drank and been merry for some time, they could hear the band start playing in the tent. Kat held off as long as she could, somewhat waiting for Niall to get back from his conversation with some of the other guests, but eventually the call of the music was too much for her. She found Phoebe and Daisy, Louis’ preteen twin sisters, who so much reminded her of her own little sisters that it made her heart ache with homesickness, and some of their friends and younger relatives, and got them all to go out on the dance floor with her. They danced to several upbeat songs in a row before Kat begged off, needing a drink and some fresh air to cool down.

She hadn't been outside for more than a minute before Lou’s grandpa claimed his dance, then she danced with Harry, Louis, and Liam in quick succession. She hadn't even seen Niall in what seemed like ages, as far as she knew, he hadn’t even been in the tent where the band was playing at all, likely busy chatting outside. Kat wasn't too concerned -- they were safely out of sight of any paparazzi inside the tent and she doubted any of the wedding guests were paying that close attention to exactly how much time she and Niall were clocking together. 

The little girls grabbed her once she was free again and had her dancing song after song before Stan, Louis’ good friend from home that she'd met several times before, swooped in to save her, clearly recognizing that she needed a break from the kids. She really liked Stan, he was easy to be around and fun, and they danced together for a couple of tunes before Kat excused herself to run to the restroom.

After she’d used the facilities and freshened up a bit, Kat went back outside to see who she could find. She spotted Lou and Sophia chatting at a table and headed their way, not having gotten to talk to the two of them much earlier. She stepped carefully around a tree, making sure not to trip on a root and was so focused on not falling that she gasped when someone grabbed her arm, whirling to find it was Niall.

“Hey, stranger,” she said, feeling the smile stretch her mouth. He'd ditched the sunglasses he’d been wearing all day, no longer necessary as the sun had set, so she could see his lovely blue eyes again.

“Wanna dance with me?” His hand slid down her arm until he was holding her hand.

“I’d love to.”

Niall led her back into the tent. Once on the dance floor, he pulled her in close and they swayed together to the beat. It was the first time they’d really danced together and Kat felt a bit like she was floating, she was so giddy. Although that could have just been the exhaustion talking.

“Didn't know if I was going to get a chance to dance with ya, you're the most popular lady here tonight,” he said into her ear. 

Kat laughed. “Yeah, once you start dancing with the little ones, they're on you all night long. I learned that long ago but it's still so fun to do that I can't help myself. They always love twirling in their pretty dresses. Weddings are a big deal to kids.”

“Wasn't just the kids that were waiting in line for their turn.”

She pulled back somewhat and fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I'm clearly the belle of the ball,” she joked, not sure how to take his comments, particularly as she hadn’t even known he’d been anywhere he could even see her for the last hour or so.

“That you were, Cinderella.” He twirled her, and for a moment, she truly did feel like a princess.

“I kept my eye out for Prince Charming but he was nowhere to be found.”

“Got talking with Ben and Meredith,” Niall explained, referring to the band’s longtime friend who directed some of their videos and his wife.

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t talking about you. I was actually referring to Ernest, but I think the littler twins were taken home pretty early on, not surprisingly as they're babies,” she teased, Niall trying and failing to hold back his grin. “Not that you're not very princely as well. Particularly tonight.”

“I did wear this very suit to meet the Queen, actually.”

“Shut up.”

“It’s true, I swear.”

“All of you boys got to meet her?”

“Well, we all have met her together, few years back, but this time it was on me own, she had a reception at Buckingham Palace honorin’ Irish sports stars, entertainers, all sorts of people. And I was invited.”

“And you were wearing this suit?” Kat ran her hands down the arms of his suit, thinking that it had been in the presence of the Queen. “Was Prince Harry there? Or Kate?” she asked hopefully.

“No, just the Queen.”

“Still, that’s incredible. The Queen.”

“Just another day,” he boasted with a smirk, making Kat laugh.

Seeing how he was in such a good mood, Kat decided to seize the moment and see if her hunch was correct. “Niall, can I ask you something? You have to promise you won’t get pissed though.”

“By pissed ya mean angry, right?” he clarified.

“Yeah, American pissed, not your pissed.”

“Sure.”

“Are you sleeping with Sophia?”

Niall choked. “Jesus, I should know by now to realize that when you ask if you can ask a question, it’s gonna be a big one. What makes ya ask that?”

“Just a vibe I got. Obviously it’s none of my business, I’m just curious.” Kat actually did think it was somewhat her business as it could impact her position as Niall’s hired girlfriend but she didn’t feel like she needed to press the point by saying so. It was an extremely personal question she was asking and he had every right not to answer her if didn’t want to.

“Uh, well, you’re sorta right. About the vibe, I guess. We have slept together, a few times, awhile back. Management actually found about it and were pissed, afraid it would get out. She pretty much got fired for it. ”

“Ah yes, the non-fraternization clause,” Kat replied knowingly, reeling slightly with the confirmation that he and Sophia had been intimate. She’d thought maybe they had, but a big part of her was hoping she was wrong. He truly did have a type, it seemed, gorgeous statuesque brunettes with perfect bodies.

“You remember that from your own contract? I’m impressed.”

“Are you kidding? If I’d have remembered that -- scratch that, if I'd actually read and understood that -- I wouldn’t have kissed Dan. Liam actually just brought it up in another context a bit ago.” She didn’t tell Niall that it was actually in regards to Dan, but there was no reason he needed to know that. “Learning about it, I was surprised you didn’t use the whole thing with Dan to get me fired, you hated me so much then.”

“If you and I hadn’t called off the fightin’ right after that all happened, I can’t say I wouldn’t have tried. Was so stupidly angry about ya that I woulda done just about anythin’ to get ya gone. Not that it really worked for Sophia. Management ended up bringin’ her back anyway, probably figured that havin’ you here provided enough cover if anyone suspected anythin’ between Soph and I. And her and Liam do work really well together so not surprised they'd want to keep that goin’.”

“So is everything cool between you and her now? I mean, you guys seem friendly. Any chance of rekindling anything?” Kat tried to keep her tone casual and light, like she didn’t care one way or the other what his answer was. 

“We’re fine, yeah. But no, I don’t think so. Pretty sure she wouldn’t want to risk her job again, and, honestly, it was probably a horrible idea in the first place. It was convenient, sure, and she’s hot and all, but it coulda gotten messy. She’s always around and …” he trailed off, either unsure of how to explain why he hadn’t wanted to continue anything with Sophia or not knowing how to word it so he didn’t sound like a dick.

“Bit too much like a real relationship for ya, huh, Niall?” Kat guessed.

“Ha ha.” Niall’s lack of amusement made Kat believe she had guessed right.

“Well, thanks for telling me the truth, I appreciate it. It’s just good to know all of the dynamics at play so I don’t unintentionally step in anything. You’ve never hooked up with Eleanor, have you?”

“Nope. We get along well enough but she’s been here for so long, never really crossed me mind. And not Perrie either, before ya can ask. She’s not around all that much anyway and it’s not like I make a game of it, seein’ how many of my bandmates girls I can hook up with or anythin’.”

The song ended and they both stepped back from each other, clapping for the band. They were really good, playing all sorts of awesome oldies. Kat could have stayed out and danced more with him but it didn't seem like Niall was thinking the same thing. He put his hand on her back and led her away from the dance floor as a fast song started.

“Just as well. Not really a fair competition as you’d literally be the only one competing anyway,” she said, responding to his earlier comment as they exited the tent, the night air getting a bit cool.

“Good point. Want a drink?”

“Would love one. How much longer are you thinking of staying? Not that I’m complaining, just curious.” She shivered a bit.

“You use the word ‘curious’ a lot more than I would expect from someone named Kat.” He shrugged off his suit jacket, putting it around her shoulders.

It held his body heat, warming her up instantly. “Thank you, that feels nice. It gets cool quick here in the summer, not like at home. And out of appreciation for your kind gesture, I'm not even going to make a smart ass response to your cat comment.”

“It seems like things are windin’ down here, what do ya say we have these drinks, make our rounds to say goodbye, then take off? It's been a long day.”

“It has. A good day but long just the same.”

Niall nodded to the area across the street. “Want to kiss one more time for anybody lingerin’ over there?”

“Sure, why not? Want to give them the full show they’re expecting,” Kat responded. They’d shared a couple of small kisses earlier in the day, knowing they had an audience watching their every move.

He pulled her closer to him, grasping the lapels of his jacket that was wrapped around her. She went willingly, feeling, as always, like she was putty in his hands. She felt completely surrounded by him, with his suit jacket smelling like his cologne and the real thing right in front of her, it was almost more than her overwhelmed senses could take. The kiss itself wasn’t anything particularly special but it felt like more to Kat because of the day they’d spent together and the dance they’d just shared. 

She kept her eyes closed for a moment longer than was necessary when he pulled back, allowing herself to hold onto the feeling of being his, being wanted by him, for as long as she possibly could. She was leaving the next morning, flying directly out of Manchester back home to Lincoln and she wouldn’t be seeing him for over a week. Part of her knew it was good for her, knew she needed some time away to clear her head and protect her heart again but she knew she’d miss him, miss spending most of their days together. 

Kat needed to spend their time apart getting her shit together and her heart much better protected, that much was certain.

*

Kat hadn’t ever really bought much into the tired idiom of absence making the heart grow fonder, but as the days she spent back at home went on, she found herself missing Niall more and more, instead of quashing her feelings as she’d hoped the time apart would do.

She was very thankful that they had each other’s cell numbers now, though, as she could text him periodically, when something came up that made her think of him.

Or when she saw something posted on Instagram that made her insanely jealous.

> **Jerk, can't believe you went to the Harry Potter studio without me.**
> 
> _Had to take Willie, he's been getting the short end of the stick since you came around, he used to always be my date to stuff._
> 
> _We can go some other time though, it was pretty fuckin cool ._
> 
> **Rub it in there, Horan, rub it in**
> 
> _You'd better be nice to me or I won't give ya your present I got from there ._
> 
> **Please disregard everything bad I've ever said about you. Can't wait to see you next week! :)**

*

“Seriously, Becca, five more minutes and we’re out, okay? Promise?” Kat had been home for a week and had agreed to go out for a night of drinking and dancing with Becca at the downtown bars. As it was summer, with Lincoln being a big college town, it was typically a little less busy at the bars, which was fine by Kat. She’d actually have been just fine with even fewer people out, as the ones that were there were largely annoying her.

Like, for instance, their sorority sister they’d ran into that wouldn’t stop grilling Kat about Niall. Tracy, either not seeing or not caring that Kat was talking to Becca, pulled Kat in close to her to ask yet another question. “So, does he serenade you?”

“Of course. Well, me and the tens of thousands of fans that are there to hear him and the rest of the band at their concerts,” Kat replied sarcastically. “We've only been dating for a few months so he's not singing me love songs or anything; we're not at that level yet. You do realize he's just a guy, right? I mean, just because he can sing and is famous, it doesn't make him any different or better than any other person I've dated.” Kat realized that she needed to tone it down slightly so no one thought she wasn’t into Niall. “I mean, I really like him but he's just Niall, nothing more, nothing less.”

Tracy didn’t seem to appreciate her answer which was fine with Kat. She was just about to grab Becca, who had snuck away upon hearing Tracy’s question, when she saw a familiar face peeking above the crowd. He started smiling the minute they made eye contact, clearly glad to see her and she grinned right back at him.

Scott.

She’d called him her ex when she was talking to Harry and Niall about the last person she’d been with, but that wasn’t entirely accurate. He was more her ex-hookup than an ex-boyfriend as they hadn’t really ever dated. They’d mostly just fucked. 

But they had a lot of history -- they’d gone to school together since kindergarten, although they were more often rivals than friends. They were both opinionated and liked to be in control, which had led to many an argument. In high school, they were always at each other’s throats, both certain they knew the best way to do things -- in classes, in group projects, in organizations, whatever. If there was something that could be done two different ways, you could almost be certain that she and Scott would disagree about the best way to do it. More than any other person, they each knew how to push the other’s buttons, knew how to get the other person fired up with just a couple of words.

At some point in college, however, they’d realized their tumultuous relationship had made for some pretty fantastic sex.

“If it isn’t my favorite Kitty Kat. How’s it going, Hamilton?” Scott said as he strolled up to her.

Kat rolled her eyes at him. “Doing okay, how about yourself?”

“Not bad. Heard you graduated, congrats.”

“Yeah, I did. You’ve still got a semester left, right?” Kat asked, catching Becca looking over at them and waggling her eyebrows. Becca well knew Kat and Scott’s history.

“Yep, or two. Shouldn’t have changed my major so many times.”

“You never could make up your mind,” Kat said with a smirk.

Choosing to ignore that, Scott stepped in closer to her. “You must miss your boyband boyfriend, huh?” So that answered the question of whether or not he’d heard who she was dating. Not that she was surprised, they were from a small town, after all. “Look, I’m up for hooking up tonight, like old times, and I swear to you, I won’t tell anyone. It could just be our little secret.”

Part of Kat was tempted. Sex with Scott was always good and it had been a loooong time for her at this point. And Harry had all but told her she should do it. But even though her relationship with Niall wasn’t real, Scott didn’t know that, and she didn’t want to be the type of person who would cheat, even on a fake boyfriend. 

And truth be told, she didn’t really even want to sleep with Scott that much. Which was a new development -- she’d always been up for hooking up with him in the past when either were in between relationships, but it really didn’t hold much appeal for her at the moment. She recognized that sleeping with someone else might be good for her, really good for her, in fact, as it would give her a bit of emotional distance from Niall that she desperately needed, but she found that now that she was actually in the position to get some, she couldn’t do it.

“Scott, this might shock you, but some people actually care about their partners and don’t, you know, cheat on them regularly. I know monogamy isn’t always your thing but it really isn’t so bad. So thanks but no thanks.” She patted him on the chest condescendingly and started to turn away.

He grabbed her wrist. “His cock that great? Thought he was from Ireland, aren’t they known for having tiny dicks -- isn’t that what the whole Irish curse thing is? So it must be the money, huh? Funny how that’s always such a turn on for girls.”

Kat narrowed her eyes, pulling his hand off her arm. “I can’t speak for the entirety of his nation, only him, but, trust me, most men, you included, would be lucky to be similarly cursed.” She knew a dick size jab was a low blow but he deserved it. “But you go ahead and believe I’m just with him for his money, if it makes you feel better. It couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he’s gorgeous and hilarious and smart and insanely talented and fucking amazing in bed. No, it’s definitely gotta be his bank account. Bye, Scott, hope you and your hand have a lovely night.”

Kat whirled to find Becca standing right behind her, her mouth hanging open. Kat looped her arm through hers. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“What the fuck, Kat?” Becca muttered as they walked away.

“He deserved it, fucking asshole,” Kat raged. “And no, none of that shit about Niall was based on real life experience. Although I have overheard him when he was with a girl and it didn’t sound like she had any complaints.”

“So I guess you’re done hooking up with Scott for the foreseeable future, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s a bridge burned, I’d say. Oh well.” Kat was sure she might regret ruining a relationship that had produced such good sex in the past, but there’s was no way she was going to let that fucker talk shit about Niall like that. No fucking way.

Even if she was, technically, in this case, a fake one, no one could ever say that Kat wasn't a loyal girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: "The Way You Look Tonight" by Michael Buble
> 
> My [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you ever want to say hi!
> 
> [Story Rec Post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)
> 
> Much love to my beta/therapist [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special bonus chapter for your patience last week! Should be back on the Thursday (or Friday) updating schedule after this.

Kat bounced anxiously on her toes, full of nervous energy as she scanned the faces of every person she saw, searching out the only face she wanted to see. After a few passengers had walked by, her excitement increasing by the minute, Kat finally saw Niall’s unmistakable (at least to her) figure, dressed casually and wearing a Yankees cap. Feeling super awkward about it, but knowing that there could be people that recognized them, Kat hurried over to him as soon as he was past security. He must have had the same idea as she did and he pulled her into a hug, kissing her quickly for good measure. She couldn’t hold back the grin on her face, it was so great to see him in person again.

“Welcome to Lincoln,” she said, trying to control her blush. Jesus, she was back to doing that again? She’d come so far, but apparently her progress had been undone by a week plus of not seeing each other. 

To his credit, if he noticed her red face, he didn't say anything. “This is a small airport,” he replied, looking around.

“Yeah, it’s kind of nice, makes it really quick and easy when you fly out and in. Wait until you see how fast they get your bags out, it’s wild. Did they even know who you were on the flight?” she asked as he adjusted his carry-on bag on his shoulder. They walked together over to the escalators to go down to the lower level to the baggage claim area.

“Not sure, didn’t get asked for any pictures though, so that was nice.”

They chatted a bit more about his flight and the airport while they waited the five minutes for his bag to come out. “You weren’t jokin’, that was quick.”

“That’s all you’ve got?” Kat asked, motioning to his single bag. 

“Figured this was all I needed for a couple of days. The tour’s got the rest of me stuff, they’ll bring it with ‘em when they go to Toronto.”

As they approached the automatic doors, Kat cautioned, “It’s warm out here, prepare yourself. I’m just parked over here, nothing’s too far away here, as you can imagine.”

They got to her car, a small deep red hatchback, and she popped the rear so he could put his bags in, next to the overnight bag she’d packed for herself.

“Cute car.”

“Thanks, she’s no Rover but she’s alright. Her name is Ruby.”

He smiled.“Ya name your cars?”

“Well, my little sisters did and I liked it, so I use it too. It fits her.”

When they pulled up to the exit booth, Niall went to grab for his wallet.

“Stop,” Kat said, putting her hand on his arm. “It’s going to be like two bucks, I’ve got this.” Kat handed the attendant a five after she told her the total. As Kat got her change back, she thanked the woman, then, as she was curious, asked Niall, “Do you even have any American money?”

“I have a credit card. They take those everywhere.”

“Good point.” They drove quietly for a couple of minutes. “We’re just going to head right to my parents, if that’s okay with you. They’re only about 15 minutes away.”

“Works for me.”

“Thank you so much for doing this. I know how precious your time off is and I’m sure this is about the last thing you want to be doing, hanging out in Nebraska of all places, right before the next huge leg of your tour and --”

“Kat, it’s fine. And ya had to meet my family ‘bout week two so ya had it much worse, right?”

“Yeah, but that was just at a concert, I didn’t have to really do the whole dinner thing with them until a couple of weeks ago. We’ll just stay at my parents’ tonight; tomorrow night we can stay at my place here in Lincoln,” Kat said, glancing over at him in her passenger seat. It was surreal having him here -- in her car, in her town, and soon to be at her childhood home. 

Which reminded her … 

“Um, so about my parents … you need to be on your absolute best behavior. They were less than happy about this whole thing,” she cautioned.

“Can’t say I blame ‘em. And no problem, I can be quite charmin’ when I want to be.” He grinned over at her. Kat shook her head, smiling. She well knew that was the truth.

Kat drove him through the downtown area of her hometown, which was a serious blink and you’ll miss it tour. 

“Ya weren’t jokin’, this is a tiny town.”

“Yep, exactly the kind of place the Coug was singing about.”

“The Coug?” Niall questioned, his brow furrowed.

“John Cougar Mellencamp? Sings a lot of songs about small towns? I know he dropped the Cougar forever ago but it’s way too cool for me to let go of so easily.”

Kat drove very slowly in front of the town’s only grocery store, telling Niall to look closely at the sign in the window.

“‘No shirt, no shoes,’” he began, then his voice became incredulous, “‘no pants? No service.’ Never seen one with the part about the pants.”

“That’s because we had this absolute specimen of a human being, a character deluxe if you will, that used to live in town, walked into the store one day with a t-shirt and boots on, with no pants, no underwear, no nothing. Said they couldn’t kick him out because the sign just required shirts and shoes, both of which he had on. The sheriff, of course, saw things quite differently. Next day, though, that sign was up.”

When it could be put off no longer, Kat drove them to her parent’s ranch-style house, pulling into the driveway slowly. Before the car was even turned off, her parents were out on the porch, waving at them. _Sweet Jesus, let them not embarrass me completely_ , Kat thought.

“Mom, Dad, this is Niall Horan. Niall, this is Mike and Lynn Hamilton, my parents.”

Niall shook both of their hands. “Pleased to meet ya. Thank ya so much for lending me your daughter for the last couple of months. You’ve raised an amazin’ girl, as ya well know.”

“I never get tired of hearing that, thank you,” Lynn said, beaming at him. “It’s so great to finally meet you, Niall. Come in, come in. Mike, get their bags.”

Niall was already opening the trunk. “Oh, I can carry them, sir, it’s no problem.” He grabbed the two bags easily, following them towards the house.

“‘Sir’ seems a bit formal, you can call me Mr. Hamilton,” Mike said with a straight face. Kat groaned. Her dad’s sense of humor could be painful at times. Mike Hamilton was a big proponent of the dad joke and the like.

“Stop it, Dad. You can call him ‘Mike,’ right, Dad?” 

“I suppose that would work too,” Mike said, winking at her as he held open the back door for Kat and Niall to walk through.

“Where are the girls?” Kat asked, shocked that they hadn’t been waiting for Niall at the end of the driveway with signs and banners.

“We made them go to the pool, I didn’t want them smothering you guys the minute you walked through the door. They’ll be back in an hour or so, Brooke’s mom was going to drop them off.” Before Kat could say a thing, Lynn continued, “And yes, Kat, I already told them that Brooke couldn’t come in this time. No need to make Niall feel like a zoo animal.”

Kat was impressed. “Thanks, Mom, you thought of everything.”

“Glad I can still surprise you occasionally,” she said with a smile, then continued, pausing in the living room, “You’re an adult, Kat, and you two have been traveling all over Europe together, so we’re not going to make you two sleep in different rooms like we all don’t know the reality of the situation. So you’re both just in your old room, if that works. You guys go ahead and get settled, then join us on the deck for a drink while your dad gets the grill going.”

Kat was completely stunned. It hadn’t occurred to her that her parents would put them in the same room, she’d just assumed that they’d have Niall stay in the guest room. Her parents weren’t what she’d call -- hell, what anyone would call -- modern in the slightest so of course the one time they act cool, it completely messes everything up.

After a slight pause and without making eye contact with Niall, Kat mumbled her assent to her mom, leading the way to her bedroom. Niall followed her silently with the luggage.

Once they were both inside, Kat closed the door behind them quietly, collapsing onto her bed. “I’m so sorry, Niall, I thought they’d put you in the guest room, I never even considered they’d have us sleep together. Fuck.”

“It’ll be fine, Kat, don’t worry. Even having just met them, I wouldn’t have guessed they would be okay with this either but there doesn’t seem to be a way around it. Think of it this way, though, some day you’ll be glad they’re this cool with ya sharin’ a room with someone.”

“At least I have a queen bed, it could be worse, right?” Kat joked, trying to make this whole thing slightly less awkward. “And I’m a pretty tame sleeper, I stay on my own side, promise.”

“It’s fine. You and Harry managed it alright, sure we will too.” He looked around her room from his position by the door. “Nice bedroom, has it been touched since ya left?”

“Not really. I mean, I don’t decorate quite so much with movie posters and framed photo collages anymore.” Kat sat up and glanced around the room herself and didn’t see anything that was too embarrassing, thankfully. As she hadn’t thought that Niall would be bunking with her, she hadn't even thought to double check her room for things he could tease her about. He walked over to her floor to ceiling cork board and looked at some of the items pinned there, focusing in on her _Reality Bites_ and _Empire Records_ posters. “You may have picked up on this already, but I’m kind of obsessed with everything from the 1990’s. It’s my thing.”

“I had noticed that.” He threw their bags onto the bed beside Kat. “Your da’s taller than I would have thought.”

“Yeah, I must not have got any of those genes, unfortunately. Maybe one of my sisters will get lucky and be taller. Speaking of them, they’re going to be a total fucking trainwreck with you, you do realize that, don’t you? I mean, nothing you haven’t dealt with before but it’s not going to be pretty. I wasn’t kidding when I told you they were big fans.”

“It’s Molly and Gabby, right? And Gabby’s the one that was sick when she was little?” Niall asked.

“Right on all points, you really are good.” She’d talked about them a few times but she hadn’t really prepped him or anything for the trip with names and info, he clearly had just retained all that himself.

Niall nudged her knee with his, making her realize that she’d been jiggling her leg with nerves. With some effort, she was able to hold it still, taking a deep breath. “Hey,” he said, holding eye contact with her, “everythin’s cool, alright? It’s gonna be a good night, try to relax.”

Kat stared into his eyes for a beat, trying to take his advice. “Thanks for saying that, I appreciate it. Do you want to shower or anything? I’m sure you’re beat.”

“I’m okay actually, got over my jetlag in New York so I feel pretty good now. Let’s go get that drink.”

“God, yes.”

*

“What would you be doing now if the whole rock star thing hadn’t panned out?” Lynn asked, once their dinner of steak, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes was pretty much completed. Kat’s sisters had disappeared to their rooms, no doubt calling and/or texting all their friends to tell them all about the meal they’d shared with the Niall Horan. They’d been slightly better than Kat had feared they would be, although they never really quit staring at him, which Niall mostly just ignored.

Niall laughed. “Thanks for callin’ me a rock star, sounds much better than boy bander. As to your question, I don’t rightly know. I went on the X Factor when I was 16, so I hadn’t really thought that much about my future up to that point. I like to play golf, but I couldn’t make a career out of it, as your daughter can attest to. She soundly kicked my arse, er, bum when we went a while ago.” He looked over at her, grimacing slightly and raising his eyebrows about his near cursing. Kat smiled at him to let him know it was okay. She didn’t even think ‘arse’ would register as a swear word to her parents, not that they were overly uptight about colorful language now that Kat was an adult, as long as the younger girls weren’t around.

“16!” Lynn exclaimed. “So you didn’t finish high school?”

“No, I didn’t get to sit for me final exams. Didn’t really go back home after the show was over, honestly, it was pretty much nonstop with the band from the word go.”

“I didn’t realize that,” Kat said quietly. She felt somewhat bad for the guy, essentially being a high school dropout at a table of professional educators. And both her parents had their master’s in addition to their bachelor’s degrees; education was something taken quite seriously in the Hamilton household.

Niall seemed to have come to terms with this long ago and was pragmatic about it all. “I mean, it is what it is but I do wish I’d been able to do it. Seems a bit pointless to do anythin’ about it now though.”

“Well, that’s true enough. No matter what happens from here on out, I’d imagine you’d be just fine, diploma or no diploma,” Mike said, smiling at Niall. Kat really loved her dad in that moment.

“So Dad, how’s the cross country team going to be this year?” Kat said, effectively turning the conversation away from Niall. It didn’t go unnoticed, as he shot her a grateful smile from his spot beside her at the table. In addition to being a teacher, Mike also coached the high school cross country and track teams at Kat’s old school.

“We only lost three seniors so we should be pretty good. Can’t say there’s any talent like you on the team though,” her dad said teasingly.

“Oh, stop it. I didn’t even do cross country in high school.”

“Niall, did you realize your girl here’s a two time state champion in the 1600 and 3200 meter? Still holds the school record in both of those to this day, as well as number of other volleyball and basketball records.” Her father’s voice clearly indicated his pride at his daughter’s accomplishments.

“Seriously, Dad, enough. Niall doesn’t need to hear this. Besides, he has countless global awards his band has gotten, he’s not going to be really impressed by my ‘highest free throw percentage’ plaque in the high school gym,” Kat groaned.

“Of course I’m impressed by that, Kat. Although I’m not quite sure what it refers to, to be honest, not being much of a basketball fan meself. And no, I didn’t know this at all. She runs with Harry, m’ band mate, regularly -- I can’t go, got a bum knee that I had surgery on this January, so no runnin’ for me right now. And he’s said how good she is, but I didn’t realize I was dealing with a state champ.” He slid his arm around her shoulder, lightly shaking her as he teased.

“That’s enough, you two. Quit encouraging each other. Is there dessert, Mom?” Kat had already decided that she was going to eat perfectly normally while at home as her parents would notice immediately if she didn’t.

Lynn didn’t disappoint, bringing out brownie sundaes for everyone, to Niall’s vocal delight.

*

“Would you be interested in doing, like, the most Nebraska thing I can possibly think of?” Kat asked later, after they all watched some tv in the living room with her parents (well, the adults watched tv and Molly and Gabby had mostly stared at Niall, who was kind enough to pretend not to notice), who were now making sure the girls were brushing their teeth and going to bed.

“With a sales pitch like that, how can I not?”

“Okay, I’m going to go see if I can borrow the truck from my dad and grab some bug spray, just a minute.”

Kat walked back into the room a couple of minutes later, followed by her parents. 

“Have fun you two! All the stuff’s in the truck bed. I called John, he’s totally fine with you parking there. But don’t stay out too late, you know how people talk.”

“We won’t. Thanks, Mom and Dad.”

“I’ll leave the lamp in the living room on for you, turn it off when you get home so I don’t worry,” Lynn reminded them.

“I know the drill, Mom, I haven’t been gone that long. Good night!”

“Good night, Mrs. and Mr. Hamilton.”

“It’s Lynn and Mike, Niall. And good night, have fun!”

Kat led Niall out to the truck before running back in to get a couple of things, then they were on the road.

“So where are ya takin’ me exactly? This town doesn't seem like it has much of a nightlife.”

“It doesn’t really. You’ll just have to wait until we get there. But it’s only a couple of minutes away, so you won’t be in suspense too long.”

“Ya look hilarious driving this big truck,” Niall said, looking over at her behind the wheel.

Kat shot him a look, insulted. “Hey, I’m fine. I learned to drive on a truck like this. Dad said if I could handle it, it would be that much easier driving a normal sized vehicle.”

Kat pulled the truck into a dirt road that led to a field full of corn and turned out the lights.

“Are ya gonna kill me? Seems like a great place to hide a body,” Niall asked curiously as he looked around, not really sounding concerned despite his question.

“That’s an excellent observation, duly noted. But no, you should live through the night. C’mon.” Kat opened her door and walked around the back of the truck, Niall doing the same on his side of the vehicle and following her. She opened up the tailgate and hoisted herself into the truck bed, where there were several sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. She grabbed a can of bug repellant and sprayed herself quickly, before turning towards Niall.

Kneeling at the edge of the tailgate, she said, “Hold out your arms, I’ll spray you down. This is the good stuff, with deet, so we should be safe. Or is deet bad? It’s confusing because some of the labels say “deet free” and some say “with deet” like it’s a good thing? I’m guessing it’s probably terrible for you, but good at keeping bugs off of you? Which is what we need, mosquitos around here this time of year are no joke. They’ll carry you away if you’re not careful.”

“I’d rather risk the chemicals than the bugs meself so spray away.”

Once she was done, she motioned for him to join her in the truck. “Come on up -- we can lay out the blankets and get comfy.”

Together they spread out the sleeping bags, several deep to provide a good padding, then laid back on their individual pillows facing each other, with plenty of space between the two of them. “Okay, lay on your back and close your eyes.”

“Okay?” He seemed unsure.

“Just do it.” After checking that he was settled and his eyes were closed, Kat pulled up a playlist on her phone, pushed play, and dropped it into a glass that she brought with specifically to act as a makeshift speaker.

“You can open up now.” Spread out before them, with little to no light pollution, was the full beauty of the Nebraska summer sky. 

The music she had selected, “I Only Have Eyes for You” by The Flamingos, serenaded them:

 _Are the stars out tonight?_  
_I don't know if it's cloudy or bright_  
_I only have eyes for you, dear_

“This is gorgeous. And nice song selection.”

“Thanks. My astronomy professor played it for me the first time we got to go in the planetarium. I thought it was the perfect choice.”

“Ya took astronomy?”

“Yeah, freshman year. I hated it though. Besides the planetarium stuff, anyway. It was not what I thought it would be at all -- the professor just lectured at us the entire time and it was boring as hell. I didn’t learn any new constellations or anything, such a waste.”

“That is a waste.”

“This would have been so much cooler if I could have pointed out all sorts of interesting things in the sky. All I got is the big dipper. And the little dipper, I guess.”

“Thanks, I already spotted those.”

They sat in companionable silence for awhile. The next song started up. 

“I’m not big into country music, despite my obvious small town roots, but this is a great song.” The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark” played.

“I’m not familiar with it, but it is fittin’. Are all the songs about stars?”

“Stars, or the moon, or the sky, something like that. I love a themed playlist.”

“Ya have me anxious to hear the rest.”

“You’ll just have to wait.”

Laying there, listening to the music made Kat realize how romantic the whole thing was. She’d only really went stargazing with her friends before, usually with a couple of beers on a quiet night when nothing was really going on, which is when she’d first put together the playlist, but she now realized all the songs were love songs. Not surprising, she supposed, as it made sense in a way that songs about stars were generally romantic ones, but a little awkward now that she was out here with a guy who very definitively was NOT her boyfriend. At least not in real life. Just a guy that she kissed occasionally in front of cameras.

What a weird life she was leading.

“This is so relaxing, I might fall asleep,” Niall said.

“You’ll miss the rest of the songs then, which would be a shame,” she said, looking over at him. Despite his words, he didn’t look tired at all. He had his hands folded behind his head and was clearly drinking in the view. She’d never seen him look so relaxed and comfortable. “Do you have many nights like this?”

“I can honestly say I’ve never had a night like tonight. Never gone stargazin’ in the back of a truck with a customized playlist.”

“Well, I’m happy to give you a new experience, I’m getting to see all sorts of new things thanks to you. But I actually just meant nights where you don’t really do anything, I feel like when we were in London you always had something going on.”

“Yeah, I get ‘em from time to time. We have weeks off, even months off between tours, although there’s usually all sorts of promo to be doing for the next album so it’s not really down time. Not complainin’ though, it’s a pretty amazing life. What’s this?” he asked, listening to the song that was playing.

“‘Lost Stars,’ by Adam Levine. It’s from the movie _Begin Again_ with Keira Knightley, it just came out earlier this month, I’d really like to see it.”

“I haven’t seen it yet either -- James is in it.” At Kat’s quizative look, he said, “James Corden, you met him at the soccer match?” She nodded, remembering that he’d been a player on Niall’s team at the charity soccer match he’d hosted in May, not long after she’d first came to London. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Niall was silent for a moment, listening to the music. “I really like this song.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kat sat up suddenly. “Do you want a beer? I almost forgot I packed some.”

“You’ll never hear me turnin’ down a drink.”

Kat jumped out of the pick up and ran around the vehicle. “Cover your eyes, the dash light’s going to come on and it’s going to blinding after all this dark.” Squinting herself, she quickly grabbed the small soft sided cooler she’d tucked into the cab of the truck and slammed the truck door shut.

“Does your da realize ya packed beer?”

“No, but I don’t think he’d care really. Although you’re not 21 so he probably would. Don’t rat me out, okay?”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

“It’s just Miller Lite, that’s what my parents drink. I’m a fan but I know you’re used to a little more substantial beer.”

“It’s great, thanks.”

They listened quietly to the music together, sipping their beers awkwardly from their reclined positions, before the song rolled into the next. Kat was surprised when Niall began laughing once he realized what it was.

“Did ya put this on the list ‘cause of me, specifically?” Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” echoed out of the glass.

“Uh, no, why would I? You a big fan of this song?”

“I sang it on the X Factor, second round, right before I got cut.”

“I had no idea. That didn’t come up in my internet research.”

“Ya researched me?” He turned his head to smile over at her.

“Of course. Once I realized I wasn’t going to get much info out of you to go on, I Googled you and all the boys. There’s a lot of crap out there so I didn’t really scratch the surface, but I got the high points, I think. Like I saw all of your initial audition videos, and the movie, although I just watched that recently, but I didn’t really watch other interviews or anything.” Kat saw his slight smirk, even in the poor lighting. “Don’t you laugh at me, I’m a firm believer in research. And if you say a word about Bressie, I’m going to leave you out here in the field.”

“That’s a valid threat, there.” In an obvious attempt to change the subject, Niall asked, “So how’re things goin’ with the school stuff -- you heard anythin’ about any open positions?”

“Sadly, no. Although at this point I wouldn’t be able to do anything but sub anyway, given my current full-time job.”

“And what a job it is,” Niall joked.

She turned towards him. “Something I hadn’t thought about initially was that this isn’t going to have a positive effect on my employability, you know? It’s not exactly a pro in the teaching profession to say you were the girlfriend of an international pop star. I mean, I can’t exactly put ‘touched Niall Horan’s butt’ on my resume or anything.”

“Wait, ya touched me bum?”

Kat rolled her eyes as dramatically as possible for full effect, not caring that he probably couldn’t even see her. “No, but everyone thinks I have and that’s all that really matters. If I’ve learned nothing else in the last couple of months, it’s that perception and appearances are all important.”

“That’s all shite, though.”

“Niall, again, yes, obviously I didn’t touch your ass, I’m sorry I offended you so greatly by suggesting that I did --”

“Not that bit, what’s shite is that ya said about it only matters about how things look. Maybe that’s all that matters to them but none of that BS is what really matters, ya know?”

“Logically, yes, I know that, but it’s hard to remember sometimes.” Not for the first time, Kat wished she had his confidence.

They lay back and enjoyed the music in silence for awhile. When one song rolled into the next, Kat wondered if Niall knew the song. “What do --” she cut herself off, though, as she realized that he had actually fallen asleep. 

Knowing that she shouldn’t but unable to help herself, Kat sat up on her elbow and looked over at him, noticing how soft and serene he looked in sleep. And so utterly still, which she’d never really seen him be before. She had to physically restrain herself from pushing back the lock of hair that had flopped down at an odd angle on his forehead -- the product he’d had in his hair earlier had given out after he’d run his hands through it so many times during the evening, something she knew he did when he was a bit nervous or unsure of himself. God, he was handsome. Just ridiculously good looking.

Forcing herself to stop staring at him, Kat reached up and pulled her phone out of the glass, turning off the music. Niall startled awake at the sudden silence. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry. Didn’t really think I’d fall asleep. More tired than I thought I was, I guess.”

“No problem. Let’s get you home,” she said, adding a silent, _and into my bed_ , in her mind. 

*

Kat could feel warm, soft skin under her palm. Not fully awake, she moved her hand back and forth slowly, encountering a smattering of crinkly hair. 

Y’know, kinda like chest hair.

Her eyes shot open. _Fuck. Holy fuck_. Her head was pillowed on Niall’s bicep and she was curled into him, one leg slung over his. And worst of all, her arm was completely under his shirt. 

_Oh God, let him be asleep_ , Kat thought. But what if he wasn’t? Kat couldn’t imagine what he’d be thinking if he was conscious. She forced herself to look up at his face, only to find he was, thankfully, still sleeping, looking like the blonde angel she knew he wasn’t. 

Not wanting to get caught in either this compromising position or gazing at his sleeping visage, Kat slid her arm out from under his shirt (briefly encountering a very lovely feeling stomach on the way) and slowly, carefully, rolled over and away, so her back was facing him and she was safe once again. She snuggled into her pillow, determined to get more sleep, as her bedside clock showed it was only four in the morning.

But sleeping Niall must have been cold, because he rolled over as well, becoming the big spoon to Kat’s little. He slung his arm over her body, lightly gripping her opposite forearm. Despite Kat’s feelings of discomfort with the entire situation, her exhaustion and the cozy warmth of Niall soon had her drifting back to sleep. 

She woke up hours later, in roughly the same position in which she’d fallen asleep. Except Niall’s hand was now on her boob and, unless she was mistaken, his erection was poking her in the lower back. Kat was slowly attempting to move his hand and simultaneously inch her lower half away from his, when he started moving, nuzzling into her neck and placing hot, open mouthed kisses behind her ear and down her neck.

Although she couldn’t see his face, Kat was fairly certain he was still asleep, not that it made the situation any less awkward. She was debating her options when he began rocking his hips into her bottom, letting out a quiet groan as he did so. Both the motion and the noise caused an immediate rush of blood to between Kat’s legs and her body wanted nothing more than to push back on him, her back arching against her will.

The sound of his own groan must have woken him up, however, as he suddenly froze. Problem was, his mouth was still attached to Kat’s neck. She felt him ease away from her, the feeling of his breath, cool on her now wet skin, making her shiver.

“Uh, Kat?” he whispered. She knew the polite thing would be to just pretend she was asleep but she just didn’t think she could pull it off.

“Uh, Niall?” she whispered back.

“Fuck,” he muttered, pulling his hand away from her chest.

“It’s okay, I’m familiar with morning wood, think nothing of it.”

“Fuck.”

“Seriously, it’s no big deal. You can have first shower this morning, rectify the situation, as it were.”

“Fuck,” he groaned, this time.

Impatient at his lack of a real response, Kat twisted around so she could face him. “Again with the ‘fuck’? Dude, it’s fine, whatever. No big.”

“Easy for you to say. Ya weren’t just humpin’ someone’s back.” It was somewhat hard to understand what Niall was saying, as he kept his hands on his face the entire time he was talking.

“It actually _isn’t_ all that easy for me to say, my back was being humped.” Kat started giggling. “Humped is such a funny word.” She paused, composing herself so he wouldn’t think she was laughing at him. “Niall, obviously this is awkward as fuck but there’s no use making it even worse. Just go shower already, bang one out, and we’ll go about our day. Cool?”

That made Niall finally slide his hands off his face. “‘Bang one out?’ Do people actually call it that?”

“I don’t know, I don’t see why not. If you’d rather, I can say masturb --” Kat was cut off by Niall’s hand against her mouth. 

“I can’t talk about this anymore with you. Could ya clear out, give me a couple of minutes? Don’t look at me like that, ‘m not going to do that in here. I just need a minute to get meself together. Then I’ll shower, alright?”

Kat slid out of bed and headed for the door. “You can use the bathroom down the hall, should be clean towels in there. I’m sure my mom has them all laid out and everything.”

When she got to the kitchen, her sisters were sitting at the table, eating cereal and giggling amongst themselves. 

“Omigod, Kat, you’re finally awake. Where’s Niall?” Molly, her oldest sister, asked, peering behind Kat as if she magically had him hidden behind her.

“Finally, it’s all of 8:30? Since when do you two get up so early?”

“Hello? We have a member of One Direction under our roof, you think we’re just going to sleep in all day? Not happening. So where is he?” Gabby asked.

“Showering.” Kat could tell they were bursting with questions so she decided to have mercy on them. “Go ahead. You have, ah, ten minutes or so, I’d guess, to get out all your questions.”

The girls clapped their hands excitedly.

“Let me get a bagel first, okay?” Kat popped one in the toaster for a couple of minutes, to buy herself a bit more time, asking the girls innocuous questions about their summer and their friends, while they grew increasingly anxious to talk about Niall.

She plopped down at the kitchen table with them. “Okay, shoot.”

“Me first, me first! Um, is he a good kisser?” Gabby asked, blushing.

“Gabby!” Molly shrieked.

Kat looked over her shoulder, peering down the hallway where her bedroom and the bathroom were located. She figured there was no chance Niall was done yet so she could safely answer Gabs’ question, although obviously she wouldn’t be going into much detail with them. “Okay, not the way I thought these questions were going to go but … okay. Um, yes, he is a good kisser. No more personal questions like that though, alright? Molls?”

“Who’s your favorite of the boys? Besides Niall, of course.”

“That’s a super hard question. They’re all so amazing. Like Liam is so silly and warm and such a good listener. And Zayn cracks me up, plus he really gets me. I think we might be the most alike, so he’s great for me to talk to. Louis is who I go to if I need help with something or if I need a good laugh. Plus he’s so smart, I love to hear his thoughts on everything. And Harry. Harry’s not at all like I thought he’d be like, I mean, sure he’s charming and fun, but he’s also sweet and caring and so good with people. So I honestly don’t have a favorite. I really mean that.”

“Then what’s Niall like?”

“You guys have met him now, what do you think?” Kat asked, trying to dodge the question. 

“He’s super funny, isn’t he? But, like, really nice too? And he really seems like he’s listening to you when you talk, even to me and Gabby and we’re pretty young.” Molly said, resting her chin on her hand.

“I thought he’d be stuck up, but he really isn’t. He seemed just like a normal guy, although he’s way cooler than any other boy I know,” Gabby sighed.

“I think you guys are dead on, that’s totally how I’d describe him too. He’s really good with people and he’s one of those people that everyone wants to be around because he’s just a good person himself. And he really takes care of people he cares about; he’s super easy going but would totally protect you against anything that might hurt you.”

“But all of ya forgot to mention how devastatingly handsome I am,” Niall said, coming into the kitchen, dressed for the day but his hair still dark and wet. Molly and Gabby erupted into embarrassed giggles.

Although he was smiling at the three of them, Kat could tell from looking at him that he wasn’t much better off than he’d been before his shower. She knew him well enough at this point to pick up how tense his shoulders were, how different he was holding himself than his normal relaxed posture.

“I’m assuming our mom and dad are out for their morning walk, right girls?” Molly took a break from her giggling and whispering to her little sister to nod at Kat. “So it looks like we have to fend for ourselves in the breakfast department. I could make us something if you wanted? Eggs or pancakes or something?”

Niall nodded towards the cereal boxes on the kitchen counter. “Cereal actually sounds great this mornin’. Wanna grab the milk for me, Kat?”

Kat grabbed the carton out of the fridge and moved to stand next to him at the counter. She put her arm around his waist and gave him a light kiss on the shoulder, because that felt like something she’d do with a real boyfriend or girlfriend. Plus it gave her an opportunity to be closer to him so they could talk without being overheard.

“Why didn’t you, uh, you know, in the shower? You wouldn’t be so tense,” Kat whispered, grabbing a bowl out of the cupboard and sliding it over to him.

“I was worried someone would hear me. Jesus, Kat, ya have little sisters. I’m not going to scar them for life by them hearing me moanin’ in their bathroom,” Niall muttered back at her.

“I’m no expert, Niall, but I’m pretty sure a person can whack off and not moan. Just a heads up for the future.”

“Can we finish this enlightenin’ discussion later? Or maybe never?” 

“Sure. I’m sorry. Uh, for all of it.”

Niall sighed and rubbed his hand over his face before he whispered back, “God, Kat, I’m the one that should be apologizin’. I mean, I was asleep but I still didn’t have any right to touch ya like that, I’m so--”

Kat cut him off, putting a hand on his arm. “Niall, seriously stop. It wasn’t your fault, you weren’t even conscious. And, really, if you think about it, you didn’t do anything that’s all that much more than we’ve already done with each other, although I guess you’ve never touched my boob before so there’s that. But regardless --”

Kat’s parents chose that moment to return from their walk, bursting through the back door with the family dog, Lola, in tow. 

Niall looked over at Kat and muttered to her quickly, “We’re done talkin’ about this, agreed? Can’t believe ya just said that with your sisters 15 feet away and your parents comin’ in right after. Jesus, Kat.”

“Didn’t realize you were such a prude, Horan, my apologies.” Knowing that he couldn’t do much about it, and checking that her sisters weren’t paying attention to them, Kat reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before her parents came into the room, intentionally pressing her breasts into his chest as she did so. She saw his eyes widen, then narrow when her cheeky smile revealed that she’d done it on purpose. 

“Morning, Mom, morning, Dad. How was the walk?” she said, strolling away innocently, throwing him a sweet smile and a wink over her shoulder. He glowered back at her, but Kat saw the slight smirk lurking underneath his grumpy expression. 

Kat had done it completely on impulse, just wanting to be a brat and not even thinking of it as an advance or anything. The more she thought about it, though, the more sure she was that this wasn’t a game she wanted to get involved in with Niall, as she’d surely lose, so hopefully he’d just see it as the complete joke she meant it to be and leave it at that. 

She could always hope anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: “I Only Have Eyes for You” by The Flamingos
> 
> My [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> [Story Rec Post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)
> 
> Much love to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	23. Chapter 23

"Okay, I know I told you to go all in with my parents but you might need to back it off a bit. I thought my mom was going to propose to you when you started playing ‘Imagine’,” Kat huffed. After breakfast, Niall had plopped down at the family upright piano and played a couple of songs, claiming he wasn’t much of a pianist but still impressing them all with his skill. Molly and Gabby practically fainted, they were so excited. Kat hadn’t even realized he could play any instruments besides the guitar. “She's going to be hounding me nonstop from now on, asking if I regret quitting piano when I was 12.”

“Well, do ya?” They were in Kat’s room post Niall’s impromptu piano recital, Niall straddling the back of Kat’s desk chair in a way that was going to make her feel strange looking at it for a long time. Kat kept her distance, sitting cross legged on the bed. 

“Of course, but I’m never going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that. She gave me this huge speech about what a mistake it was to quit but all I wanted to do was hang out with my friends after school, not spend a half hour with Mrs. Brennan, a serious blue haired tyrant. She was no joke.”

“So, what are your plans for the day?” Niall asked, resting his chin on his folded arms perched on the back of the chair.

“I’ve got to take you to Runza for lunch, it’s a Nebraska based fast food restaurant that’s sort of mandatory eating for visitors. It’s pretty tasty, don’t worry. Then I thought we could go to the State Capitol -- it’s a beautiful building and I worked there the last couple of years so I bet I can get us a behind the scenes tour if I play my cards right. The Legislature isn’t in session so it should be pretty slow there, not many people around.”

Niall was quiet. Kat felt stupid, suddenly, realizing she’d sort of planned the two days he was going to be here like he was actually her new boyfriend visiting her hometown for the first time. It was probably obvious to Niall and was making him feel uncomfortable. 

Wanting to prevent that, she quickly added, “Or we can do nothing, if you’d rather. We can just snap a couple of pictures here with my fam and those should work perfectly fine for social media. We can post them on the way out of town so you won’t get stalked here or anything.”

“Kat, your plan sounds great. Like a perfect day. Stop your stressin’.” He grinned at her, which instantly made her feel a lot better. They were almost done with the parent part of the trip -- Niall was right, she had this.

She exhaled, trying to take his advice. “Do you think you’ll be able to survive by yourself if I go take a shower? You can always hide in here if you’d like, they won’t realize that’s what you’re doing.”

“Thanks for givin’ me that option, but I’ll go out and spend some time with ‘em. We’re leavin’ before too much longer anyway, don’t want to seem ungrateful for their hospitality.”

“I cannot believe I’m even saying this given our history, but you really are too nice.” She stood up and grabbed her clothes out of her bag, getting ready to head to the shower.

Niall got up as well, following her out the door. He put his hands on either side of her waist and leaned in close, whispering in her ear, “If you’re tryin’ to flatter me hopin’ I won’t remember your little stunt earlier, it’s not gonna work. I don’t forget anythin’, Kat, you know that.”

With a gulp, Kat ducked into the bathroom, not responding to him. As she quickly shut the door behind her, she heard his laughter echoing down the hall. 

Kat emerged from getting ready a half hour later (she’d tried to hurry somewhat -- for all Niall’s confidence, she knew her family could be a lot), hustling into the living room, ready to get Niall out of there as soon as possible. 

She needn’t have worried. Niall and her dad were watching the Golf Channel and discussing their favorite players, while the girls were sitting on the floor together, going through enormous gift bags of what had to be every piece of One Direction merchandise ever created and showing everything to her mom, clearly gifts from Niall that Kat hadn’t ever realized he’d brought. They must have filled up ¾ of his bag, he must’ve only had room for a change of underwear in there with all those gifts taking up the majority of the space.

Looking at the scene laid out in front of her, Kat felt her heart constrict just a bit. He was amazing with her family, no question about it. And while the girls would probably have loved him no matter what, given who he was, she knew her parents didn’t care about that stuff at all and yet truly liked him, just for who he really was.

Or at least who he really was pretending to be.

She felt a bit reluctant to break things up but knew they needed to get a move on if they were going to get everything done that she’d wanted to that day. Niall saw her standing there and stood up, coming over to join her. He rested one hand on her back and with the other, held up a shirt bearing the name of her former high school and a picture of its mascot. “Look, your mam gave me a shirt, wasn’t that nice? Are ya ready to go?”

As Kat’s mom hugged her goodbye, she whispered in Kat’s ear, “He’s a good one, Kat. I know why you did what you did now, I totally get it. In your shoes, I would have followed a guy like that to London too.”

“He’s okay, I guess,” Kat teased back, not wanting to reveal how much she actually cared about him, even to someone that would expect her to. The way her mom looked at her, though, as they both stepped back from the hug, Kat knew she saw right through her -- she was shit at hiding her feelings from people that knew her well and no one knew her better than her own mom.

*

Lunch was a success, Niall loving the Runza sandwich -- a ground beef and cabbage filled pastry pocket -- she ordered for him (she insisted that she had to pay since she’d invited him to lunch) and they went completely unnoticed in the small restaurant. After that, they headed to the State Capitol building. Kat took Niall on a brief tour of the first floor of the building before stopping in and seeing if one of her favorite senators was there so they could say hi.

The senator’s administrative assistant told her he was in, as there happened to be an interim study hearing that day and went to get him out of his office.

“Who do we have here? If it isn’t my favorite page, Kat Hamilton! Been hearing a lot about you lately, it’s all the Capitol’s been talking about! Is this your young man here?” The senator was a jolly man that had been a college professor before he’d retired.

“It is. Senator Hodley, this is Niall Horan, Niall, this is Senator Hodley.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.”

“You as well,” he said, shaking Niall’s hand, before turning back to Kat. “You been having a good interim? Doing a bit of traveling, have you?”

“I have. This guy’s been keeping me busy.” Kat realized the double entendre of the words as soon as they left her mouth and her eyes widened. While she might be able to get away with such a thing in front of most men his age (he was in his 60s, Kat guessed), Senator Hodley was notoriously quick witted and rarely missed anything.

“Kat, you’re like a granddaughter to me, I don’t want to hear about it. But glad you’re having a good time.” He winked and burst into laughter.

“We don’t need to keep you, I know how full your schedule is when you’re in town when the legislature isn’t in session, but before we go, do you want to get a picture with Niall? Your young constituents will love it, and your grandkids will think you’re pretty hip.”

“Are you saying they don’t think that already?” he joked. “But yes, I’d love a picture with both of you. Sally, could you take one on my phone?” He motioned his administrative assistant over.

After a couple of pictures and a request that he not post it until the next day at the earliest so as not to alert the public to Niall’s location, Niall and Kat continued their tour of the building. She took him up to the second floor to see the rotunda and the legislative chamber. He was suitably impressed with the beauty of all the art and the building itself.

In the halls, they passed another senator, Senator McCay, who must have been in town for the same interim study hearing that had brought Sen. Hodley to the Capitol. For the first time ever, pretty much, he greeted her warmly. “Kat, how are you doing? And who’s this?” he said, as though he didn’t obviously already know.

“Senator, this is Niall Horan. Niall, this is Senator McCay.” Kat couldn’t fake much enthusiasm in her introduction. Niall’s glance over at her indicated that he noted her tone.

“Nice to meet you, Niall.”

“You as well,” Niall replied, as polite as ever.

“What brings you here to Nebraska? Besides our Kat, of course.” Kat had the hardest time not rolling her eyes at his forced joviality. God, he was a prick.

“Well, I’m --” he started, but was interrupted by the senator’s legislative aide calling out to him down the hall. When he turned to address his aide, no doubt to chew her out for bothering him, Kat seized the opportunity, jerking her head at Niall before grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall.

“I can see you’re busy, Senator, we’ll quit bothering you. Good to see you,” Kat called out behind them, not really even caring if she was being rude. 

“What was that all about? He not a good guy?” Niall asked as they walked briskly away, Kat glancing back over her shoulder to be sure he wasn’t following them.

“No, he’s the worst. Like a serious puppy kicker, that bad. There was no way in hell I was going to let him get a picture with you, fuck that. On top of his truly horrible politics, he is always a dick, to staff in general, and particularly to pages. He treats us like we’re his servants, like we’re subhuman. God, I hate him.”

“Jeez, Kat, tell me what you really think.”

“Katherine Hamilton,” echoed down the hall towards them and Kat froze for an instant, afraid it was some other asshole politician. But then she realized she knew that voice and exactly who it belonged to.

“Eric,” she squealed, running over to him and throwing her arms around him.

“You bitch, you’re back home and you weren’t even going to call me, were you?”

“Hey, you were out of town until, what, yesterday? Two days ago? And I’ve been busy since then.” Eric just seemed to notice Niall, who had followed her over and was now standing behind her.

“Oh, I see.” Eric looked him over, eyebrows raised.

“Is this _the_ Eric?” Niall asked Kat.

Kat suddenly remembered Niall reading Eric’s text and laughed. “Yep, one and the same. You have the best memory, sheesh.” She pushed Eric’s shoulder. “Niall read that text you sent me, asking if we’d slept together. Made a real lasting impression on him, as you can see.” 

Eric had the decency to look chagrined. “Didn’t scare him off, at least,” he pointed out.

“No, but it did make for an awkward breakfast that day.”

Eric’s embarrassment was incredibly short-lived. “Yeah, I’m sure it did, especially as you were both all epically fucked out when you got the text.” 

“Oh my God, Eric, filter!” Kat squealed, glancing around quickly to be sure there wasn’t anyone around who could have overheard. The building had crazy acoustics and you could never be too sure your voice wasn’t carrying farther than you would have thought. There didn’t seem to be anyone anywhere near them, though.

Niall was bent over at the waist laughing, not offended in the slightest. 

They caught up for a few minutes, Eric explaining he was there working the hearing, which explained why he was dressed in the standard page uniform. He also told her a bit about how his summer was going, although she was sure he was editing heavily for Niall’s sake. 

They parted ways with reassurances to get together next time she was in town and Niall telling him that he should catch a nearby show if he could, promising him tickets if he’d want to go. Kat glanced back at Eric as she and Niall walked away, hand in hand, to see Eric giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up, followed by a slightly obscene hip movement that made it hard for Kat to keep a straight face. 

“Is that what you wore too? Vest and the little name tag? Very sexy,” Niall asked, not having noticed Eric’s antics.

“Pretty much, minus the tie. Sometimes I’d wear a skirt instead of pants though, as long as it wasn’t too cold out.”

“Did ya get hit on a lot?”

“Some of the senators were pervs, if that’s what you’re asking. And a few of the lobbyists as well. But nothing too bad, just your standard creeper behavior. Let's get out of here before the Governor gets word, he's also horrible, total short guy complex,” she said, her eyes darting around as though she expected him to pop up at any moment.

“Excuse me?” Niall asked, mock offended.

“You're not that short, shut up! You know the type, always overcompensating by acting like a man child, serious Napoleon complex.” Kat grabbed Niall’s hand and tugged him towards the center of the building. “I just want you to see the view from the top before we go, c’mon, the elevators are this way.”

After she’d pushed the button to call the elevator, Kat thought of something and turned towards Niall. “Shit, I just remembered that these elevators are super small as they’re original to the building. Do you think it’ll be okay? Know you get claustrophobic.”

“It’ll likely be just fine but I’ll let you know when I see it if I think it won’t work.”

Niall wasn’t too concerned when they saw the interior space of the elevator car, so up they went to the 14th floor and out onto the fenced in viewing balconies. “I'm sure this is nothing compared to all the things you've seen but I've always loved this view -- it’s particularly pretty here in the fall, with the trees all changing colors. Nebraska’s actually the home of Arbor Day, which is the U.S. tree holiday. It's a state holiday here, so all the state employees get a paid day off, it’s amazing.”

“It’s a gorgeous view, you can see for kilometers, I’d imagine.” Niall leaned on the stone railing, looking out across the city.

“Besides Arbor Day, Nebraska’s got some other serious claims to fame. Kool Aid was invented here, have you had it before? Delicious sugar water? And the Reuben sandwich, plus the McRib. Pretty fancy, huh?”

“You know a lot about your state,” Niall said, smiling at her.

“We don't have a lot going on here so it’s not too hard. Too bad it's not a bit later, I could take you to a Husker football game -- real football, not soccer,” she teased. “The stadium’s the third largest city in the state on game day. If you look over there, you can see it. You'd probably need security there though, Basil'd have my head if I took you somewhere like that without a bodyguard.”

“Ya do realize he's not my da?”

“But he looks after you and cares about you. I respect that. He's a good man.”

“That he is. He likes ya too.”

They successfully exited the building without running into anyone else Kat would have liked to have avoided and headed back to her apartment that she shared with Becca. As they got closer, Niall asked, “Something I’ve been thinkin’ about since we talked about ya not gettin’ paid until this is all over, is how are ya payin’ your rent? Or do your parents handle it for ya?”

“God no, I wish. I had a bit of savings and I’m doing some work for a former professor, assisting with an online course, which I’ve been doing all summer in my spare time, and he’s asked me to do another one for next semester, so that’s good. And when I’m home, not that it’s been all that much, I waitress at a sports bar not far from here. So between all those things, I’m able to cobble together rent. It isn’t pretty, but it’s working. And hopefully I’ll be home enough this fall to work a bit more, both at the bar and substitute teaching, which I’d think I would be as your tour is done in early October, so that’ll help too.”

Becca wasn’t yet home from work when they arrived and Kat gave Niall the two minute tour of the place and then took him up to the loft space that they used as a study, where Kat had set up an air mattress. It was a double high queen sized version and was pretty comfortable (Kat had slept on in several times before) but she still felt bad about him not having a real bed and offered him her room instead, which of course he turned down. 

He did, however, take her up on her offer of a beer and they settled onto her couch together, Kat turning on the TV to her default station, Bravo, while they both fiddled around on their phones. Kat kept peeking over at him, finding it really strange to have him here in her apartment. Also, just sitting there together, even though they weren’t touching, was making her remember how she’d been woken up that morning, with him pressed up against her.

She squirmed slightly in her seat, searching on her phone for something to distract her from that train of thought. After a moment, she found the perfect thing. “You totally don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I just looked, and _Begin Again_ is playing at the theatre closest to my apartment, would you want to go? They just remodeled it so it has these huge lounge chairs, it’s pretty amazing.”

“That’d be great, if ya don’t think we’ll be bothered too much. Don’t want to cause a big stir or anythin’.”

“I really think we’d be fine. No one knows you’re here, at least not yet, and with a baseball cap, I think you’ll be okay.”

“Then yeah, let’s do it. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a movie in a theater, so I’m definitely interested.”

Before they left for the movie, Kat told Niall she was paying for everything and when he argued, she asked if he’d feel better about it if she put in on the credit card she’d gotten from Sony, which he was fine with. Kat wasn’t actually going to do that, she was going to pay for it herself, but she didn’t feel bad for misleading him as it prevented a fight and he’d never know the difference.

They safely got into the theater unnoticed, with Kat getting the popcorn, candy, and sodas at the concession stand while Niall went in to find their seats in the dark theater. She gave him half of the snacks and his drink when she came in, settling into her seat beside him, putting her feet up in the lounge chair and showing him how to do the same. He was suitably impressed.

They munched on the shared bucket of popcorn that Kat balanced on the armrest between them as they watched the trailers, then it was movie time. Kat noticed that Niall’s eyes kept flickering over to the seats to the left and behind them but didn’t want to ask why.

A few minutes into the film, Niall whispered to her, “I feel like those girls over there are lookin’ at us -- even if they haven't put it together who we are yet, once they see the pictures from today they might figure it out. So I'm gonna put my arm around ya, okay?”

Kat pushed up the armrest, nodding as she grabbed the popcorn and placed it on Niall’s lap. She slid over towards him, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. After all the intimacy they'd faked, it felt easy and comfortable. Even after that morning’s awkward boner situation.

“Well, this makes sharing the popcorn way easier, if nothing else. So thank you random teenagers,” Kat joked, grabbing another handful to shove into her mouth.

Kat soon found herself lost in the movie, which was about a couple, Gretta and Dave, played by Keira Knightley and Adam Levine, that wrote songs together, but when Dave lands a record deal, he subsequently turns into a cheating asshole. When her good friend (James Corden) drags her out for an open mike night to help her get out of her funk, Gretta meets washed up record executive Dan (Mark Ruffalo) and the two go on to write and produce an album together. 

Kat hadn’t realized how focused on the music industry the film was, but it had some really great insights and commentary on the business that she couldn’t wait to get Niall’s take on. She cracked up when James’ character mocked the Dave’s album cover, nudging Niall who laughed as well: 

_It's the back I like. It's like he's holding a guitar, but he wants you to think it's his penis._

_He's saying, "Look, it's a guitar, but it's not. This is the actual size of my penis.”_

Shortly after that scene, Niall sat down the popcorn, whispering to her again, “Don’t look over there, but those girls have been starin’ at us the whole movie. I’m gonna kiss ya, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed with a gulp.

He slid his hand into her hair and pulled her close, mouth closing on hers. His tongue lightly touched hers and, without conscious thought, she followed his lead, their tongues rubbing against each other softly. 

So, yeah. Kissing with tongues was something they did again now.

For once, Kat completely lost herself in his kiss, not overthinking anything and just enjoying the moment, enjoying the act of kissing this wonderful human who she’d grown to care so much about. 

She was so into it that she had no idea how much time had passed when they finally separated, both breathing heavily as they stared at each other for a moment. The action on the screen diverted their attention and they both went back to watching the movie as though nothing had happened, Niall’s arm still around her as he thumbed at her shoulder without thought. 

Kat had to really force herself to pay attention to the movie after that, which shouldn’t have been hard as she’d really been enjoying it.

Problem was, she enjoyed kissing Niall much, much more.

The film’s dialogue soon drug her back in, though, as Dan commented on what had happened to Dave, after Gretta wondered if she’d ever really known him.

_Baby, you've been living with a rock star. Only he didn't know it._

_It didn't matter, but now that he does, I've got to tell you, these people get married to it. They fall in love with the music, they fall in love with the lights, they fall in love with the road, the chicks, all that shit. And no matter how hard he tries, he's never gonna be able to make a woman happy._

As they were walking out, hand in hand, no one near them, Kat asked Niall, “Do you think that's true? What he said about musicians falling in love with it all and never being able to be in a normal relationship? Because it makes some sense, I mean, how could a flesh and blood person compete with all that? I mean, for more than a short while.”

He scratched his jaw, thinking. “Never really thought about it. Seein’ how all my bandmates are all happy and in love, sorta seems like it's not true.”

“Maybe that they're all in the band makes them an exception?” Kat wondered, not really sure what she thought about it one way or the other.

Niall shrugged. “Maybe. I'm sure there are some people like that guy in the movie but those guys would be like that anyway-- if they weren't rock stars, they'd still be shit boyfriends or husbands. Not really the fault of their career, just who they are, ya know?”

“Oh, definitely. That guy would have dicked her over in some other way if he hadn’t made it big, that’s just the kind of person he was.”

“But, goin’ back to your question, I dunno. I haven't really put much thought into it, I'm so far from wantin’ to be in a relationship at this point in me life. Figure I'll think about it when I'm 30 or somethin’, so I got plenty of time. But it’s not because I don’t think one person can compete with all the fame and attention I get bein’ in the band, it’s just not somethin’ I want right now.”

Kat felt like that may have been his way of reminding her that this wasn’t a real relationship, nor was he looking for a real relationship. Which, if it was, was very effective.

*

And then they were back to the tour, flying into Toronto to meet up with the rest of the band and its entourage. Lottie was there as promised, so Kat was happy. Sophia and Eleanor were as well which she was less pumped about.

Things were good with Niall, although they hadn’t kissed or done anything physical beyond hand holding since Nebraska, nor had Niall made any attempt to retaliate against her for her boob incident. She knew he hadn’t forgotten about it but refused to really worry about it.

She was, however, trying to emotionally distance herself from him again. She’d loved having him home with her and it had been so comfortable and easy but she had to keep reminding herself that it didn’t make it any more real.

Kat got an email from Marnie that didn’t really help with the whole “must not crush on Niall thing” either. 

__

> _We’re very pleased with the work you’ve been doing and are going to be paying your rent for the duration of your contract. Please send me the amount and contact information for where to send it at your earliest convenience._

Clearly Niall’d talked to them and got them to do it, but he played it off when she thanked him. She knew it was him though and felt a huge weight lifted, knowing that she didn’t have to worry about scraping together rent again until the end of April. 

Their first night in New York City, with Niall off doing God knows what (or, more accurately, Kat supposed, God knows who), Zayn was up in the rotation to babysit Kat. He’d invited her to hang out in his hotel room as Liam was out with Sophia and he had the place to himself. Kat knew it must be hard for him to deal with, so she was glad that she could provide at least a little bit of distraction for him. Zayn was scrolling through her music on her phone, smiling and shaking his head alternately as he read the song titles, before chuckling and selecting a song. Usher’s “Nice and Slow” started playing, making Kat laugh as well.

“God, I love this song, right?” she said, sighing.

“Oh yeah, it’s a killer.” 

They laid there for a minute listening and singing along to different parts, both belting out the part where he spells his name out, then cracking up together. When the song finished, Zayn grabbed her phone and played it again.

“This is fun, Zayn, thanks for hanging out with me tonight.”

“Course. Happy to hang with you. Been wanting to talk to you anyway, see how you were doin’.”

Kat looked over at him, brow furrowed. “I’m fine, thanks?”

“Just wondered where things were with you and Niall, seems like there’s a lot of tension there.”

Kat rolled onto her side facing him. “There is, at times. But things are a lot better than they used to be. We still have our moments but mostly we’re good. We’re getting to be friends, I think.”

“Friends?”

“Yeah, friends. Quit with your judgy eyebrow raise. We’re friends. Ish.”

“You really just think of him as a friend?” Zayn pushed and Kat could feel her face heating up. God, this was embarrassing. 

“Yeah? I mean, I think he’s fun. And good to talk to. And okay, yes, I am aware that he’s hot but it’s not a big deal.”

“Kat.”

“Can't I just appreciate him on an aesthetic level? I do the same for all of you guys, you're a beautiful bunch of men, as you must know.”

“You’re tryin’ to tell me that ya feel the same way about me as ya do Niall?”

“Well, no. You’re actually prettier, Zayn, so if anything I appreciate you more,” she teased. Or partially teased, actually, as she was being 100% truthful. She’d never seen a more gorgeous person than Zayn, no question about it.

“C’mon, Kat, you’re not bein’ honest with me. Or you’re not bein’ honest with yourself, or both.”

“Okay, maybe, MAYBE, I do feel a bit more for him than I do the rest of you, but it’s because we have to kiss and hold hands on the regular. As much as I hate admitting it, I catch feelings pretty easily, so it shouldn’t really surprise me. Sadly, I’d probably be half smitten with anyone remotely attractive that I made out with frequently. It’s a good thing I’m not an actual actress.”

“Okay, prove it.”

“Uh, what?”

“Kiss me,” Zayn challenged.

Kat pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Very funny.”

“‘M not joking. Would be a great way to test your theory, wouldn’t it?” Zayn sat upright as well.

“While I appreciate your willingness to sacrifice yourself in the name of science, I’m not kissing you, Zayn. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to pretend that I wouldn’t love that, but I’m not going to kiss someone who doesn’t really want to kiss me. Uh, scratch that, because Niall doesn’t want to kiss me. Um, I’m not going to kiss someone who doesn’t want to kiss me and isn’t contractually obligated to do so?” 

“Stop. You’re a beautiful girl, of course I want to kiss ya. Wouldn’t be suggestin’ it if I didn’t, would I?”

“What about Liam?”

“Liam is 100% secure in our relationship and would have no problem with this at all.”

“Sure he wouldn’t,” Kat said dubiously. 

“I’ll text him, how about that, and if he says it’s fine, then will ya kiss me?”

Kat nodded. It felt like a safe bet to take, as there was literally no way in hell that Liam would just let his gorgeous boyfriend kiss someone else, even a friend, even in the name of science.

She waited patiently while Zayn tapped away on his phone, smiling and biting his lip as he did so. Him and Liam really were the cutest together. “There, all sent. Hopefully he’s around his phone.”

Less than a minute later, his phone buzzed on the bedside table. Zayn picked it up, chuckled and tossed it over to Kat. With equal parts dread and excitement, she read the texts between the two.

> **Babe, are you ok with me kissing Kat? Trying to prove something to her, but she wanted me to ask. I'll explain when you get back, but don't mention it to Niall, if ya happen to see him.**
> 
> _sure, kiss away! can't wait 2 hear about this!?_

“Okay, Kat, let’s do this. Unless you’re one of those people that takes kissing very seriously? ‘M not, personally, but know that a lot of people are.”

“Oh God no, I love kissing, I’ll kiss just about anyone. It’s fun.”

“Then c’mere,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to him, so they were both sat together on the edge of the bed. 

Kat figured it would be just a peck, just something silly to try to make Zayn’s point. She wasn’t counting on him putting his full effort into kissing her.

And if she thought normal Zayn was insanely hot, she had no idea how to process Zayn when he was in full-on _I’m going to kiss the bejesus out of you_ mode. 

He pulled her close while she tried and failed to keep a straight face, although she sobered up pretty quickly when he ran the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. He tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers. 

Kat held herself still, not unlike the first time she had kissed Niall. Zayn pulled back slightly and looked at her, eyes questioning. She smiled at him to let him know she was alright, then kissed him again, trying to relax and let herself go.

Zayn slid his hand into her hair, moving his mouth against hers. They shared a number of open mouthed kisses before his hand tightened in her hair and he touched his tongue to her bottom lip, running it along the slick inner surface. 

Kat met his tongue with hers, finding herself twisting her body more and more into him, so much so that it quickly became uncomfortable. Not taking her mouth from his, she slid her knees up onto the bed so she could kneel next to him, sitting back on her haunches but tilted into him, which gave her the unexpected bonus of being slightly taller. Zayn mimicked her action, however, gaining the height advantage back from her. As they kissed again and again, their mouths hot and wet against each other, tugging each other in as close as possible, they both ended up sitting entirely upright on their knees, pressed together from mouth to knee.

When Kat felt the urge to push him back so she could straddle him on the bed, she recognized suddenly that she was in way over her head. She pushed herself back from Zayn, looking at him as they both panted, each trying to catch their breath. Kat fell back onto the bed, laughing both at their reactions and as an attempt to break the tension in the room. Zayn laughed as well before laying down perpendicular to her, resting his head on her stomach that was slightly bouncing with her continued giggles.

“I'm sorry, I got into that a lot more than I intended. I might be a little starved for affection,” Kat said after she’d calmed down somewhat, running her fingers through his hair. 

“No need to apologize. That was lovely.” He turned his head towards her.

“You're being nice. It's just been … I don't know, way too long since I've had a real make out session with someone.”

“Well, it didn't show. If ya need a snoggin’ partner in the future, I'm happy to be of assistance. Liam would probably help out too if you'd like. ‘N fact, he might insist on it, to even things out.”

“That's quite the offer but I don't need to be your guys’ charity case.”

“It was actually quite fun, been a long time since I kissed anyone but Li.” He paused. “Or Pez, I guess. But kissin’s all I'm good for, you'll have to look elsewhere for anything more than that.”

“Oh my God, I don't need a pity fuck, thank you very much.” She shoved at his shoulder. “Sheesh.”

“So …” Zayn asked, eyebrows raised expectantly. 

“So what?” Kat returned, honestly having no clue what he was asking.

“You're good for m’ ego, did ya really completely forget the whole point of this experiment?”

“Oh, right. Um, I'm not sure. I feel a little butterfly-y around you right now but I think that's just lingering effects of the kiss? To be completely accurate, I think, I'll have to see how I feel about you next time I see you. That’s the only way I’ll really be able to tell.”

Kat headed back to her room not long after that, shortly after Liam had texted that he was on his way back home to Zayn. She tried not to feel sorry for herself as she tucked herself into her bed, alone alone alone.

“So…?” Zayn asked her again the next day when they saw each other in Sarah’s Kitchen. Thankfully Kat actually remembered this time what he meant.

“Well, besides being more than a little embarrassed, I think I feel the same about you as before?”

“Which was?”

“A great admirer of your physical and inner beauty but no real romantic feelings?”

“So there is somethin’ there with Niall, yeah?”

“Oh shut it. You’re my new least favorite.”

Kat saw Niall enter the room and gave Zayn a pointed look, warning him with her eyes to quit talking about it. 

Kat knew how intuitive Zayn was, she knew he understood what she meant. 

He just chose to ignore it.

“You’re a lucky man, Niall. She’s a great kisser.” With a wink her way, Zayn clapped his hand on Niall’s shoulder as Niall sat down next to Kat, then Zayn walked out. Kat could have cheerfully strangled him, the jerk.

As not looking at Niall again, ever, wasn’t really an option, Kat risked a side eye peek at him shortly after Zayn had made his grand exit. 

Before Niall could ask, Kat blurted out, “He’s just fucking with you.”

“So ya didn’t kiss him?” Niall asked, something like relief in his tone.

“Um.”

“Ya did?”

Kat thought frantically. She couldn’t tell him it was an experiment because then she’d have to tell him that the whole point of it was to figure out if she actually liked Niall or if it was just a product of their forced intimacy. “Uh …”

Niall looked pissed. “What the fuck, Kat? Did ya forget about Liam or somethin’?”

Oh, he was angry because he thought she’d somehow convinced one of his friends to cheat on another one of his friends. Which was a fair reaction. It’s not like Kat really expected him to be jealous or anything but maybe, just maybe, she’d been hoping that he’d be such a little upset that she’d kiss anyone else. Although he hadn’t really cared when she’d kissed Dan, so she shouldn’t have expected any different of a response this time around.

“Liam was okay with it, we checked first. We were just goofing around, it wasn’t a big deal at all. I’m sure you’ve kissed a lot of your friends before too, just because? I mean, you and I joked about this before, right?”

Niall didn’t respond to her question. “So it was just like, what, like a little shift when you were hangin’ out? Or like a full on, meet the definition and everythin’, ‘makeout’?” He used air quotes, pretty much the most annoyed and hostile air quotes Kat had ever seen in her life. The kind of air quotes that would follow you into a back alley and kick your ass if you looked at them wrong.

“Um.” Part of Kat’s hesitancy now had to do with not being certain of the precise meaning of shift -- she knew from Niall saying it before that it was kissing but not really what type. But there had been nothing “little” about the kissing she and Zayn had done. And they’d definitely made out, no question about that at all.

Niall’s eyebrows raised, her hesitancy answering the question for her. “So ya made out? But ya asked Li about it first?”

It didn’t sound good at all, no matter how she tried to spin it. Kat latched onto the first plausible scenario that came to mind. “Yeah, we were hanging out, listening to Usher, as you do,” Kat joked, trying to add a little levity to the story but Niall wasn’t having it, his face like stone, “and I mentioned that it had been a really long time since I’d really made out with someone other than you and that as you’re, like, contractually required to kiss me, it really didn’t count. So Zayn kind of offered himself up, like as a favor or whatever, but I said he had to check with Liam first, so he texted him and he was fine with it, and … yeah.” Kat really should have gone through that entire story in her head before she’d said it outloud as it sounded super ridiculous even to her. If she had, she’d certainly have come up with something that didn’t make herself sound so completely pathetic. Damn Zayn springing this on her, she’d assumed that Niall would never know about the whole thing so she hadn’t even considered how she might explain it to anyone.

She risked a look over at Niall’s face and found him staring at the table, face indecipherable. She wanted to apologize but she wasn’t sure for what exactly -- yes, she’d made out with his bandmate but he’d likely been out fucking someone else so he wasn’t really in a position to judge her. But maybe Kat was reading more into his silence than what was really there; likely he didn’t care a bit about what she and Zayn had done, as long as it was fine with Liam. 

Eventually, Niall lifted his head, shaking his head at Kat, a slight smile on his face, but she couldn’t really read his mood. “So, is he a better kisser ‘n me? Dunno that anyone else could give a direct comparison like you can now.”

Kat’s face heated up again. “It was … uh, different kissing him, that’s all I’ll say. Not better, not worse, just different. That’s it.”

“Ah, you’re no fun, Kat. Is this gonna be a thing you’re doin’ now, kissin’ all me bandmates? Need to know exactly who I’m competin’ against.” With every word he spoke, Niall seemed more like himself, shaking off whatever odd head space he’d just been in.

“Shut up. I’m going to kill Zayn, he never should have said anything to you. I don’t know what he was thinking. See if I ever make out with him again. Hmph.” Kat crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. She was glad that Niall had taken the news that she’d kissed Zayn so well, but that didn’t let Zayn off the hook as far as she was concerned. 

Zayn Malik was definitely on her shit list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: “Nice & Slow by Usher :)
> 
> My [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> [Story Rec Post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)
> 
> Much love to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit late, got distracted by Harry's AMAZING new song. Love love love it!

Kat knew she had what some might call a hot temper. 

It had gotten her in trouble before. Many times, really. It certainly hadn’t benefited her early relationship with Niall.

So when she heard from some of the band’s security that Eleanor and Sophia had taken Lottie out with them for breakfast that morning at Starbucks and essentially paid her zero attention the entire time, not surprisingly, she was angry.

And when they reminded her that it was actually Lottie’s birthday, she became positively livid. 

Like, out of her mind furious.

Kat confronted them in the hotel hallway, after making sure that Lottie wasn’t still with them.

“Did you two cunts somehow not realize that it’s Lottie’s birthday today? Because that’s the only reason I can see why you’re basically fucking ignoring her on what’s supposed to be her day? You know what, that doesn’t even matter, because you shouldn’t be ignoring her full stop. Because, I don’t know, she’s a human being? And a younger one at that, you selfish assholes. Seriously, fuck you both. Fuckers.” Kat couldn’t remember ever being so mad, she was literally seeing red. 

“Are you serious --” Eleanor began, clearly angry at Kat’s outburst and not one bit ashamed of her behavior. Sophia, to her credit, looked mortified. Kat had figured that Eleanor was the ringleader and their individual responses to getting called out confirmed that.

Kat refused to let Eleanor finish her sentence. “Don’t you fucking talk to me right now, don’t even look at me or I can’t promise what I’ll do to you. I’m going to go get Lottie and we’re going to do something amazing because she’s an awesome person and deserves to be treated as such. Fuck you guys for missing out on that. And when we see you later at the concert, you’d better fucking be nice to her.”

“Is that a threat?” Eleanor sneered.

For all her bravado, Eleanor actually flinched when Kat stepped forward, pointing her finger at El’s face. “You’re goddamn right it’s a threat. Try me, Eleanor, I dare you. You may have been around way longer than me but everyone actually likes me, unlike you, you nasty bitch.” Kat stomped off, not waiting around to give Eleanor a chance to respond. Kat was so angry that she wasn’t precisely sure what she’d do if provoked further, so she didn’t want to risk it. 

Kat rounded the corner at full speed and slammed into Liam, who was standing there, mouth dropped open. He’d clearly heard everything.

Kat grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her, all but dragging him due to her adrenaline induced pace. She heard doors slamming in the hall behind her, indicating that Sophia and Eleanor had retreated to their rooms.

“Kat, Kat, hold up. Your hands are shaking, you need to take a minute and breathe, babe,” Liam cooed at her, his voice soothing. 

Kat stopped abruptly, turning to face him. She slumped against the wall and tried to take his advice to calm herself and slow her breathing but she wasn’t having much success.

“What was that all about?” Liam asked. “What happened?”

“They …” Kat pulled in a big breath, then continued, “they went out with Lottie earlier and totally fucking ignored her, like the self-involved assholes that they are -- I’m sorry, I know you and Sophia are friends but Eleanor is a horrible influence on her, I think she just follows her lead when they’re together -- and it’s Lottie’s fucking 16th birthday, how fucked up is that to do? God, I hate them so much right now.”

“I don’t blame ya a bit, sounds like they deserved it. And I think you’re right about Soph, not that it makes it alright that she did that. Poor Lots.”

“Well, I’m taking her out, we’re going shopping and sightseeing and I’m going to spoil her rotten.” Now that she was calming down somewhat, Kat was trying to remember exactly what she’d said to Eleanor and Sophia when she was raging at them. “Did I really call them cunts? I’ve never even used that word before. Jesus.”

“You did, that much I heard. And that’s probably our bad influence, know it’s a word we all use a fair amount. More than we should, anyway.”

“It’s not your fault, if it hadn’t been that word, it would have been something else just as dirty. I have a mouth on me when I get upset.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed it but you absolutely do. Now c’mon, let’s go get you a water or something and sit for a bit before you go get Lottie.”

*

“Heard ya got into it with Eleanor today,” Niall said when they saw each other later that day, in the SUV on the way to the stadium.

“Uh, yeah.”

“I think Liam was seriously afraid of ya, said ya were a complete badass.”

“I was fired up. I can go a bit mama bear on people if I feel like someone I care about is getting mistreated.”

“I’ve seen a hint of that temper, just glad I wasn’t on the receivin’ end of it this time,” Niall joked. “You and the birthday girl have a good day?”

“We had the best time, Ni. She’s seriously the coolest, I have so much fun hanging out with her. Such a sweetie. I wish she could always be here but I guess finishing high school’s fairly important too.”

“You’d better say that, bein’ a teacher and all.”

“Not really a teacher, though, am I? Not until I actually get hired by someone,” Kat said, her voice scornful. As time inched closer to the school year starting back at home, Kat was becoming more and more conscious of the fact that this would be the first year, since kindergarten when she was five, that she wouldn’t be starting a new semester herself. At least she didn’t have to stress about her student loans, knowing they’d be paid for at the end of her contract, but it still sucked knowing that she didn’t have any real future prospects for a job in her chosen career. She’d submitted her name to the school district for substituting but she didn’t even know how much of that she’d be able to do, given that her schedule with Niall was sure to be unpredictable. 

“Chin up, petal, you’ll get there. Just gotta be patient.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Kat tried not to squirm at his term of endearment, which was hard as she’d never been called ‘petal’ before and it was pretty damn cute. Attempting to sound more upbeat than she really felt, she said, “I’m sure it’ll all work out.” 

“I can tell ya don’t believe that now, but it really will. They’d be idiots to pass ya up, you’re a natural.”

“Niall, that’s sweet but you literally have no clue what kind of a teacher I am.”

“Sure I do. May not have been valedictorian like ya were,” he said, nudging her shoulder with his, as of course her parents had shown him pictures of her high school graduation and told him how she was number one in her class, “but I did actually go to school for a couple of years,” at that, she bumped him back and he grinned at her, “and know the difference between a good teacher and a bad ‘un. And ya can tell that without actually seein’ ‘em in the classroom, just in how they treat people and how they act, how patient they are. Plus, you’re the type of person that would be amazin’ at anythin’ ya put your heart and mind to, so, yeah, I do know you’re a damn good teacher.”

Kat rested her head on Niall’s shoulder, incredibly touched and not sure how to respond but hoping that something would come to her if she wasn’t looking right at him. After a moment, she turned and kissed his upper arm, before laying her head on him again. “Thank you. That’s … you’re … I …” She tried and failed to adequately express her appreciation for the extraordinary compliment he’d just paid her.

Niall kissed her hair, then balanced his chin on her head as he responded, his voice quiet, “Thank you’s enough, Kat. You're welcome.”

*

Niall was framed in the doorway, his laptop under one arm and holding up a thumb drive in his opposite hand.

He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Wanna listen to the next One Direction album with me tonight?”

Kat didn’t even try to control her squeal as she grabbed him by the front on his t-shirt and pulled him into her room. She’d been getting ready to go to bed, as it was midnight and she’d had a busy day sightseeing followed by the concert, but she suddenly wasn’t tired in the slightest. 

Niall set up his laptop and got the music all ready to go, while Kat made herself comfortable on the bed. Too excited to lay down, she instead sat cross legged on one side, leaving plenty of space for Niall. He looked to her for confirmation and at her nod, he hit play and once the music started playing and he adjusted the volume, he flopped onto his stomach beside her, resting his chin on his folded hands.

As the music shifted from one song to the next, Kat and Niall did the same, moving continuously from position to position, making full use of the entire bed. Niall spent the majority of his time on his back, as that allowed him the most freedom to play air guitar, his knees typically up and splayed wide, while Kat favored sitting up more, her most common spot propped up by the headboard, her own knees pulled up to her chest and eyes closed so she could focus on the music (and not get distracted by Niall).

After more than an hour, when Kat and Niall were both laying side by side on their backs, their feet up at the head of the bed, the final song ended and the room was silent.

Kat kept her eyes shut and took a moment to gather her thoughts, trying to figure out a way to fully articulate her feelings. She couldn’t believe she was getting to hear their album such a long time before it would actually be released, and to get to listen to it with one of the band members was an opportunity she knew people would kill for.

Eyes fixed on the ceiling, she took a deep breath and began, “Niall, the songs were killer and you guys sound amazing. You, you in particular are phenomenal on the album. Your voice …” She paused a moment, considering, then went on, “I know my opinion probably means shit all as I’m a complete and utter lay person but listening to your voice on this compared to your early stuff … you’ve really grown as a vocalist. I mean, you all have but without question you have the most. And that isn’t a veiled insult or anything; your voice was always good, you’ve just gotten so so much better. You should really be proud of yourself.” She finally looked over at him.

He was turned towards her and gave her a soft smile as their gazes locked, his eyes warm. “Thanks, Kat, that’s really nice of ya to say. And nice to hear.” He rolled onto his back again. “And I guess I am. Proud of meself, that is. Don’t think about it much, but, yeah, I _have_ come a long way, haven’t I?”

“You have,” Kat confirmed, nodding. “I thought about asking this when we were having drinks with Harry that night in Barcelona but felt weird about bringing it up in front of him, but I know you didn’t get as many solos starting out, was that hard for you? I mean, obviously you didn’t try out for the X Factor thinking that no one would really hear your voice.” Kat turned her body so she was on her side, curled up as she faced him.

He mimicked her position before he replied, their knees almost touching. “Originally I was just glad to be in the band, ya know; I’m a big fan of boy bands so I figured that I was just one of ‘em that didn’t get to sing much. And that was okay; ‘course, I woulda liked to have some more solos -- I had the least on our first album, although Louis barely had more -- but whatever. I kinda just focused on me guitar playin’, figured that was me contribution to the group and Lou, Lou was our leader, handled everythin’ in interviews and with management and stuff, so he had his role too. Then, as a band, we kinda realized that we weren’t like the typical boy band otherwise, so why did we have to stick to that, to only a couple of members singin’ everythin’ and the others only doin’ backup? So me and Louis started getting more and more parts. It’s a lot more even now, although Harry, Zayn, and Liam still carry the majority of the songs. But that’s alright, it doesn’t have to be exactly split up, ‘long as we all feel like what we’re doin’ matters, like, we’re actually an important part of the band and not just there for show.”

“Niall, you’re _so_ important, I hope you realize that. Without you, it wouldn’t be the same band at all, what you bring to the group is so valuable.” Kat recognized that she was sounding like a gushing fan, and a besotted idiot besides, but in that moment, she didn’t care.

He gave her a half smile. “Didn’t you used to give me heaps of shit for bein’ too full of meself? Now listen to ya.”

Kat flushed. “That was before I really knew you.”

“I ‘spose ya do know me pretty well now. Which means ya should know for certain that I'm just as arrogant now as I was then.”

“But now it's just part of your charm.” Kat booped his nose. “And you’re only cocky about certain things, there’s a fair amount that I don’t think you’re quite as confident about.”

“Ya really do have me all figured out, huh?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, there’s still plenty of mystery there, don’t you worry.” They smiled at each other for a beat, then Kat asked, “Is there a limit to how many times we can listen to the album tonight? I'm thinking I need to hear all these songs at least 12 more times.”

Niall let out a soft laugh, raising his eyebrows. “Don’t think we can do that, unless you don’t care to get any sleep tonight but we can play it through one more time if you’d really like to.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Kat yelled, then added a more quiet, "please. I know you said you didn’t get to write as many on this album as you’d have liked, but which ones did you help write -- besides ‘Fool’s Gold,’ I remember that one -- so I can pay more attention to them on this listen through?”

“‘Change Your Ticket’ and ‘Night Changes,’ is it. Songwritin’ for the next album is always on this tight timeline for us, we only ever have a couple of months between one tour and the next so it’s a lotta pressure. Would be nice to be able to really take our time with it. Maybe someday,” he said wistfully. 

“Well, they’re all amazing so I can’t even begin to imagine how awesome all of you guys’ stuff would be if you were able to approach making a new album in they way you’d like to. I hope you do get a chance to do that, and soon.” Knowing that there was little to be gained from focusing on the negative, Kat changed the subject. “How great was Liam’s Mrs. Horan stuff today? I about died when I saw it.”

“Yeah, that was pretty fuckin’ funny.”

“I talked to him about it earlier, he actually searched through real fan postings for ideas, which was pretty brilliant on his part.” Apparently it had been ‘be a fan day’ and to celebrate, Liam pretended to be (or maybe just revealed himself as?) the number one Niall stan, posting hilarious picture after hilarious picture on his Instagram. Kat’s personal favorite was one where Liam’d posted a pic that had a compilation of a bunch of different cropped shots of Niall’s eyes and captioned it, _Imagine niall looking at you with those eyes like your the only woman in the world I CAHNT BREAUTHEE #BeAFanDay_

It had truly been an inspired piece of work.

Niall got up and pushed play again before returning to his spot on the bed, laying on his back a bit further up the bed so he could prop his socked feet on the headboard.

Which left his head even with Kat’s chest. She gave in to the temptation she'd been fighting all night and ran her fingers through his fringe. “Your hair is surprisingly soft considering it’s been bleached for a decade.”

He closed his eyes, clearly enjoying what she was doing. “Not quite that long of time but yeah, it’s in pretty good shape. Lou’s careful with it, gives it a deep condition regularly after she colors it. And I use conditioner as well, since she came along. Never woulda thought of it before.”

As he wasn’t protesting, Kat continued to stroke his hair, alternating that with light scratches of his scalp. “Do you have a favorite song on the album?”

“I’ll tell ya mine if you tell me yours,” Niall responded, eyes still closed and his voice gravely.

“Oooh, that’s tough. You’ve had more time to think on this. Hm, I’m going to take ‘Fool’s Gold’ and ‘18’ out of the running right now, because I’ve heard those before and am already partial to them. So… maybe ‘Fireproof’? Or ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go?’ Or ‘Change Your Ticket’ or ‘Ready to Run’? One of those, for sure.”

“That’s half the album, woman.”

“Well, they’re just that good.”

“Speakin’ of good, ya keep doin’ that with me hair and I’m gonna fall asleep right here.”

Kat stilled her hand. Niall lifted his chin up and down, nudging her again. “Didn’t mean I wanted ya to stop. And my favorite right now is ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go?’ Or ‘Stockholm Syndrome.’”

“Ha, I’m not the only one that can’t pick just one favorite!” Kat crowed.

He gave her a look. “I picked two songs, you picked six.”

“Not my fault they’re all so amazing, that’s on you, bud.”

When the album came to the end a second time, Niall groaned. “I really gotta get to bed now, we have a bunch of interviews and stuff for the new perfume tomorrow in the city, gonna be a long day.” He stood up and Kat burst into laughter.

“What now?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest and smiling down at her.

“Your hair, it’s all over the place,” Kat managed to get out between giggles.

He looked around her room and spotting the full length mirror near the entrance, walked over to it. “Jaysus, what did ya do to it? Better stick with teachin’, you’ve got no future as a hair stylist.” He tried to flatten it with his palms but it refused to lay down, poking up wildly in every direction. 

“Hey, that’s not fair, I wasn’t trying to actually do your hair or anything, I was just playing with it.” Niall spun around and looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her word choice. “Stop it, you make everything dirty. You know what I meant.”

He turned back towards the mirror and grabbed one of Kat’s baseball caps, a dark gray one with a red Husker N on it, off the dresser, adjusting the size and pulling it onto his head. “Gonna have to steal this from ya, sorry.”

“Yeah, God forbid you run into any of your touring peeps in the hall with messy hair, they could never fully respect you again. Running around in your underwear is totally fine but unstyled hair would be a dealbreaker.” Kat rolled her eyes.

“When have I ran around in me pants when you’ve been around?” Niall asked, turning the cap around backwards on his head and looking so incredibly adorable that it pained Kat to look at him.

“Never, that I know of, anyway. But people talk, Niall, so I know it’s a pastime of yours.” She pushed up off the bed, following him towards the door after he gathered up his laptop, putting it under his arm like he had when he’d gotten there.

“Thank you so much for letting me listen with you, it really meant a lot to me. I seriously can’t wait until the album comes out now, it’s going to be massive. People are going to freak out, it’s so good. So proud of you, um, like, y’know, of you all,” she stuttered awkwardly.

“It had fun playin’ it for ya. You’re a good audience.” Niall pulled her into a hug with his free hand, his palm firm on her back, pressing her into him. She went willingly, throwing her arms around his neck and reaching up on her tiptoes so she could hook her chin on his shoulder. 

Without thought, she made a serious tactical error and took a deep breath in through her nose, breathing in the smell of him, a delicious combination of the scent of his shampoo and Niall himself. 

The drugging influence of that made her linger a moment too long in his embrace, pulling back slowly when she was finally able to force her body into action. 

Although her traitorous body didn’t even do that right. 

Instead of stepping back to roughly where she’d been before he’d hugged her as she’d intended, Kat remained close to Niall, a mere six inches separating their faces. Maybe a bit more when you account for the height difference.

In any case, way too close.

And she couldn’t make herself stop staring at his face, a problem he seemed to be sharing. In her peripheral vision, Kat saw Niall’s hand raising to her face, seemingly in slow motion. His fingers lightly touched her cheek, then slid behind her ear, tucking back an errant piece of hair. Kat’s eyes fluttered shut.

Then shot open quickly again as she felt the simultaneous loss of warmth and his touch as he pulled back abruptly, grabbing blindly for the doorknob behind him without much success. He eventually landed on it and yanked the door open. As he was turning away, he said quickly, “Night, Kat.”

And then he was gone. 

And he’d taken her favorite hat with him. 

The loss of which surely explained the incredible disappointment and sadness she felt in his, er, its sudden absence.

*

The next morning, Kat talked Harry into ditching the spinning class he’d been planning on going to and going for a run outside with her instead. The weather wasn’t too unbearably hot in NYC, at least not first thing in the morning, and she had all sorts of restless energy to burn.

As they were riding the elevator down with a couple of the band’s security guards, Harry asked, “What’s a cat’s favorite color?”

“Oh my God, there’s an actual cat joke I haven’t heard. Hit me with it, I have no idea what a cat’s favorite color is.”

“Purr-ple. Get it?”

Everyone in the elevator groaned in unison. “How did I not see that coming? Excellent work, Harry.”

They stretched outside and started their run at a slow pace, building up speed as they went. Their guards kept up fine, clearly they’d chosen to come with as they were in better physical shape than some of the others. Normally, Basil would have gone with as he was pretty fit and had run with them in the past, but he wasn’t on this leg of tour; apparently some past legal troubles made it difficult for him to get a work visa for the US. As she was used to seeing him so frequently, Kat really missed him and had taken to texting him regularly. Mostly texts making fun of Niall, as that was how they’d bonded initially.

As they ran, every so often, Kat spotted people noticing doing a double take when they realized who was running by and several of them whipped out their phones to take pictures. Harry just shrugged when she pointed it out.

“Maybe you should be more worried about this, it’ll kick up rumours again.” Fans had taken pictures of Kat and Harry running together before and there had been a couple of minor stories that somewhat lightly insinuated they were more than friends, but it hadn’t caught on or became big news, more just fandom chatter. “Aren’t I going to make your girlfriend jealous?”

“Ha ha.”

“So what’s the story with her? Why do you have to always be the manwhore?” Kat had read online that Harry was supposedly dating this girl Paige, who he’d had a thing with the year prior as well, when a picture of her actually straddling him had been released. Kat would love to hear about how well that went over with Louis, who seemed like the jealous type, to say the least.

“Just lucky I guess. And no story, just the latest in my series of lady lovers. But now that I have you, maybe I don’t need her anymore ... ” He waggled his brows at her and she laughed.

“God, that’s exactly what I don’t need, management getting mad at me because I’m spending time with you. It’s so stupid, I bet no one would bat an eye if it was one of the other guys, but you … with you people always assume something more is going on. I mean, they act like your dick is magic, like there’s no way on earth that any woman could possibly stay away from you. It’s offensive, frankly.”

“Excuse me, my dick is magic.”

“I’m sure that’s what Louis has told you but I can tell you that, while I completely and utterly adore you, I’ve never wanted to jump your bones. You’re gorgeous, yes, and the absolute best to flirt with, but c’mon.”

“This is really strange, because I of course agree with you in theory but I’m finding myself oddly offended as well.”

“God, I don’t mean it that way at all. You know I think you’re the absolute best, the cat’s pajamas, if you will, so I’m not trying to dog on you at all.” Kat grinned over at him, looking for affirmation. “Did ya like all that, Harry? Cat’s pajamas from me of all people, then the whole dog on you bit? Pretty inspired if I do say so myself.”

“It was lovely, Kat, I’ve never been more proud of you.”

“Thanks. Anyway, it’s just annoying that they would insinuate that I, a person they believe to be deeply in love, or at the very least, lust, with Niall, yet you come around and look my way and I’m all, ‘see ya, Nialler, it’s been real.’ And as if you’d ever do that to your friend, like you’re some total slime ball. It’s bloody offensive.”

“Excellent use of bloody, dear. You’re on fire today. And you’re right, but it’s par for the course with the press and me. I’m the fuckin’ worst, apparently.”

“I hate that anyone could ever think that’s who you are in the slightest.”

“Thank you for your kind defense. Although I haven’t forgotten that bit about you saying my cock wasn’t magical. That’s gonna take some time to get over.”

Kat laughed, then darted ahead of him and ran backwards in front for a few steps. “C’mon Styles, keep up!”

“I should have just went spinning, Jesus,” he huffed before catching up to her.

*

Hours later, Kat decided to get in another work out while she had time, as she never knew what the boys’ schedule might be and when she might have time to run. She successfully got down and back from the hotel’s fitness room without anyone noticing her and was almost home free, when her key card gave her a bit of trouble as she was trying to get into her room.

“Hey Kat!”

She jumped, then smiled when she saw who it was. “Oh, hey Louis! Don’t look at me, I just got off the elliptical and I’m a total sweaty mess. I’m gonna go shower.”

“You’re fine. I didn’t realize ya worked out. I mean, besides runnin’ with Harold.”

“Well, this gorgeous physique doesn’t maintain itself, ya know.” She hunched her shoulders, purposely making herself look as dumpy as possible, and grabbed at her stomach rolls with both hands. She’d been seeing results from all her working out and cleaned up diet but there was still plenty to grab.

He rolled his eyes at her comment, leaning against the wall beside her door. “Speakin’ of runnin’, didn’t ya already go for a long run this mornin’? Swear Harry said something about it but I was half asleep so I could be wrong.”

“Lot of energy today, so excited to be in the city!” She took a big slug from her water bottle, hoping it would buy her some time in case he questioned her further.

He didn’t, thankfully. “Hey, been meanin’ to tell ya thanks for looking out for Lots. Heard about you sparrin’ with the other ladies on her behalf an’ she told me herself how much fun she had with ya yesterday.”

“I’m glad to hear that, she deserved to have a great birthday, she’s the absolute best." Not wanting to make a big deal of what she'd done for Lottie, she teased him instead, "Are we quite certain that you two are actually related? She’s so much cooler than you.”

He raised his eyebrows, mock offended. “Is that right? You bein’ so great to me sister doesn’t give ya the right to poke at me, so consider yourself warned.”

“I’ll be on my toes. If you’re really keeping score, I also unintentionally offended Harry today so you should probably add that to the tally against me,” Kat said, not really too worried. Louis was a notorious prankster but he was also the nicest and she knew he wouldn’t do anything to actually hurt or embarrass her in any way. He just didn’t have it in him. “Oh, hey, speaking of you getting people back, you wouldn’t happen to have Niall’s room key, would you? What am I even saying, of course you do. The real question is: can I borrow it from you?”

“Do I get to know what for? Or would it be better if I didn’t?”

“It’s nothing that interesting, I promise. He just stole my baseball cap and I’d like it back. But I’d much rather just steal it back than wait for him to finally cough it up.”

“That I can understand. Hold up a minute and I’ll grab it for ya.” He darted into his room and then quickly back out, holding out the room card for her. 

“Thanks, I’ll give it back as soon as my mission is complete.” She gave him a small salute.

“Sounds good. See ya in a bit at the show.”

“Yeah, looking forward to it, as always! See you then.”

*

As they stepped off the elevator that night after the concert, onto the band’s floor in the hotel, Niall grabbed her hand, lightly rubbing his thumb across the back of it absentmindedly.

Kat looked down at their intertwined hands, then back up at his face. All the while, Niall remained oblivious. Ahead of them, she saw Harry stopped at his room, where he’d been unlocking the door. He had halted what he was doing and was staring at the two of them and their joined hands.

Niall stopped in front of Kat’s door to drop her off, then finally noticed Harry standing there.

“What?” Niall asked, then looked down, suddenly realizing what had happened, and dropped her hand as if it were red hot. “Sorry, habit I guess. And piss off, Styles, I know ya wanna say somethin’, but just save it.”

Niall stomped past Harry to his own room and unlocked it, letting the door slam loudly behind him.

Kat and Harry, still paused in front of their individual rooms, stared at each other for a minute, Harry’s eyebrows raised sky high. Kat bit her fist to keep from laughing out loud, lest Niall hear her, then rolled her eyes at Harry before going into her room.

*

The next day, Kat slowly opened the door into Niall’s suite, trying to be as quiet as possible. She hesitated a minute before going very far into the room, making sure there weren’t any sex noises coming from his bedroom. She’d been scarred enough by what she’d seen that first time that she had no desire to repeat the experience.

She didn’t need the hat back that badly.

She paused when she heard sounds coming from the bedroom, but it was nothing scary; it just sounded like Niall was moving around in there. And unless the woman he had with him was completely silent in a way they never seemed to be, it sounded like he was alone. 

Adjusting her plan of simply taking back her property (she wouldn't call it stealing, after all, it was hers) without him knowing, she walked towards his room, deciding to knock on the door so as not to scare him and just asking for the stupid hat back. But as she got closer, she heard him say her name and stopped in her tracks.

“Listen, this isn’t workin’. Kat’s a nice enough girl, but it’s just no good.”

He paused, and when no one responded, Kat deduced that he must have been on the phone and was listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. Part of her knew that the right thing to do was just leave and try to forget what little she’d already heard, but there was no chance of her actually doing that.

“It isn’t that, it’s just … I think she really likes me. As in, isn’t pretendin’ to like me ‘cause it's her job, but actually truly likes me. And that’s awkward as fuck. I’m not a total prick, I don’t want to hurt the poor girl but I feel like I’m leadin’ her on or somethin’ everytime I hold her bleedin’ hand. It’s not right.”

Kat could feel her entire body filling with shame, her face bright red and hot. This could not be happening, this was beyond mortifying.

Niall continued, oblivious to Kat’s presence, “If you’re so dead set on me havin’ a girlfriend, I could call up Ellie Goulding and see if she’d be interested, she’s a good mate, I bet she’ll do it. And she’s famous herself, so that’s all the better, yeah?”

She heard Niall sigh through the door, obviously not liking what the other person was saying. “If you’re not gonna get rid of her, just leave it then, don’t say anythin’ to her. I’m sure she’ll get the message when I keep pushin’ her away.” He paused again. “It’s fine. Well, not fine, but it is what it is, I guess. Still don’t see the value in this whole thing but you’ve never given a shit about what I thought so I don’t suppose you’ll be startin’ now.”

He must have hung up, as he was silent save another huge sigh/groan after that and a soft thump that Kat guessed was him throwing his phone onto the bed. 

At that, Kat snuck away as quietly as possible, having zero desire to let him know she’d overheard him, nor be forced to have a conversation with him right then where she had to pretend she hadn’t heard his part of that whole awful conversation.

Once she was safely back in her own room, she tried to think rationally about the whole thing. He was a good guy, even after all that, making sure that management didn’t say or do anything to hurt her, even though she was making him uncomfortable. 

Although if he'd been trying to keep his distance from her, like he’d said on the phone, he was doing a super shit job of it: she hadn't noticed a change in his behavior towards her at all. If anything, they’d been closer than ever since he’d come to visit her in Nebraska. Kat had actually thought he was going to kiss her the other night.

But that must have all been in her mind, as he'd obviously been feeling uncomfortable around her for long enough that he got to his breaking point and couldn't take it anymore. She felt like a complete and utter ass not realizing it, how oblivious could one person be? 

Well, regardless, she knew now and if it was space he wanted, Kat could give him that much.

One thing was certain: she was NEVER going into Niall’s room without his express permission ever again. Nothing good had ever come of it.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so so much for all your incredibly thoughtful comments, you seriously have no idea how much they mean to me and how motivating they are! I seriously have the best readers ever and I'm so thankful for each and every one of you! 
> 
> Happy Easter to all of you that celebrate! 
> 
> Just as a warning, I kind of rushed this one a bit so let me know if you see any gaps or holes in the plot, sorry in advance if there are any errors!

Kat was worried about how she was going to be able to play her role as doting girlfriend after overhearing Niall’s phone conversation, after learning the truth about how he felt about her, but she needn’t have. When she was around him, when she had her game face on (which was now every.single.minute she was with Niall), she felt nothing but cool indifference to the entire situation, a sense of detachment from him that she’d never had before, even when she and Niall were sworn enemies.

In private, however, her ears would heat up if she let her thoughts linger too long on his discussion regarding how awkward he felt around her. But there was nothing to be gained in focusing on that memory, so she buried it deep in the recesses of her mind. She didn’t talk to anyone about what she’d heard and she didn’t plan to, ever. Some things were just too embarrassing to share.

In a way, it was good. Kat had always found that, for her, the easiest way to stop a lingering crush on someone was a dramatic event that ends things -- like a bad date or an instance of them saying something obnoxious or off-color -- and her feelings would be cut off completely. Sometimes even going so far as to actively dislike that person, if what had happened was bad enough to make the mental connection between the former crush and the incident negative enough.

Like when Kat was a freshman in college, she’d asked this guy she’d been massively crushing on to her sorority’s first social function. Through no fault of her date, she’d had a wretched time at the party: a combination of not having any idea of what to expect, not really knowing anyone there, everyone (except her and her date) being drunk off their asses, and just feeling violently uncomfortable the entire evening made for a truly shit time. She and the guy didn’t really have a lot to say to each other either, although Kat was so stressed by everything else that was happening that she didn’t really give the date her full effort or attention.

The next day, she’d found she didn’t have even the slightest interest in the guy anymore and, in fact, didn’t really want to hang out with him ever again. She’d felt bad about it; he’d asked her roommate what was up and why Kat kept blowing him off, but everything that had happened had just somehow all transferred onto him, albeit completely unfairly.

So Niall calling management and talking about how awkward her unrequited crush on him was was more than enough to pretty much douse any torch she'd been carrying for him. And she made every attempt to stomp out any lingering sparks that cropped up from time to time, mostly because of her strong physical attraction to him.

In an effort to minimize their time together (because she knew from past experience that exposure to Niall only tended to increase her interest in him), she instead focused on working out and spending time with his bandmates at every opportunity, not wanting to give herself any time at all to wallow. 

It wasn’t always so easy, as Niall, despite what he’d said about trying to “push her away,” continued to act exactly the same towards her and still seemed to want to hang out with her frequently. The night of the band’s second show at the Patriots stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a couple of days after “the incident,” Niall followed her to her room after the concert.

“Wanna watch a movie tonight, petal? Don’t feel much like goin’ to bed just yet. You can even choose which film.”

“I’m pooped, sorry. Heading straight to bed. Rain check?”

“Course, no problem. See ya tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

“I will, thanks.”

Kat had “Parks and Recreation” up and playing on her laptop when there was a knock on her door. Was it possible that Niall was that persistent? 

But no, it was Lottie, dressed up and looking adorable, inviting Kat to come out with her.

Kat looked down at her watch, like the elderly person she was. “Like, where are you thinking in terms of ‘out’? It’s almost midnight and you’re 16.”

Lottie rolled her eyes at her. “Louis’ coming with, my age won’t matter, I promise.”

Kat figured that was probably true enough. “Alright, I’m in, give me 10 minutes to get dressed again. Do you want to come in and keep me company while I get ready or do you need to get Louis?”

“He’s ready to go, I’ll just shoot him a text and tell him to get me here.” Lottie followed Kat into the room, tapping away at her phone. “Should we invite Niall?”

Kat hesitated, trying to figure out the best way to discourage Lottie from inviting him. “Maybe not? Think it’ll be a bigger deal if there are two One Direction members out together -- if it’s just Louis, I think it’d be easier for us to fly under the radar and avoid getting so much attention?”

Lottie was still looking at her phone. “Sure, whatever.”

Bullet dodged, Kat grabbed some clothes and quickly got dressed and ready and then they were out, at some club in Boston where it was so loud she couldn’t even think, not that she was complaining. Some of the musical band went as well and they all had a great time drinking and dancing until the club closed at 2, then drinking for a bit longer in Lottie’s room when they got back. 

The next day, she was just as tired as she’d told Niall she felt the night before when she crawled out of bed for her early a.m. workout. She supposed there was some karmic justice in that.

She took a nap after that, but she was still dragging when they headed to the stadium for the final show there. She followed Niall around in somewhat of a daze, grabbing some fruit and not much else in Sarah’s Kitchen when they got something to eat.

“Why aren’t ya eatin’ anything? With all the runnin’ you’ve been doin’ lately, would expect ya to be loadin’ up,” Niall commented, as they sat down with their plates. She should have expected that Niall would notice how much she was or wasn’t eating, as food was one of his most favorite things. 

“Oh yeah, I, uh, ate something in my room earlier, got some room service, so I’m not that hungry right now. I just couldn’t wait until we got here, you of all people know how that goes, right?” Kat joked. It wasn’t true, she was trying not to eat that much because of the late night drinks the evening before, but she wasn’t going to tell Niall that. 

“I do, but I usually manage to eat both places.”

Kat laughed awkwardly, hoping he’d drop it.

Seeing some new people walk in, Kat looked over, hoping for a distraction from their conversation. Seeing that it was Josh and Dan, Kat felt her stomach drop, knowing that any chance of Niall not finding out about her going out the night before likely just disappeared. “If it isn’t the dancin’ queen! How ya feelin’ today?” Josh asked, immediately proving her right.

Kat flushed, but replied, “Better than you, I bet!” Josh had been way past tipsy by the time she headed for her room at 4, while she really hadn’t drank all that much, having at least two glasses of water for every drink she’d had.

Josh headed over to get food. “That’s probably true! I slept all damn day, though, feelin’ much better now.” Grabbing a plate, he looked over at Niall, “Don't worry, boss, I'm all ready to go for tonight.” And gave him a cheerful little salute with his free hand.

Niall returned his salute with an easy smile and a laugh. Kat relaxed, Niall clearly wasn't upset. He went back to attacking his plate of food with gusto. Kat speared a grape and popped it in her mouth, relieved it was all going to be a non-issue.

But then Niall looked over at her and Kat saw the hurt flash in his eyes before he covered it with a smile. “So, ya went out last night? Thought ya were goin’ right to bed?”

“Yeah, there was a slight change in plans,” Kat said, trying to keep her voice light and non-guilty sounding. “Lottie came and basically forced me into going out dancing with her and Louis. She’s only here for a couple more days and I didn’t feel like I could say no.”

“Ya shoulda came and got me, I was up late, just watchin’ telly,” he said, looking at his plate instead of making eye contact with her.

“Sorry, I didn’t even think about it. It was kind of a whirlwind, I was in my PJs and and had to get ready really quickly. You didn't miss much, it was a nice time but we were only at the club for, like, an hour and a half.”

“Sounds like people had fun, though,” Niall said, tilting his head towards Josh and Dan. Kat glanced their direction and Dan gave her a little wave, which Niall noted. “Dan there too?”

“Yeah.”

“Anything happen with …?” he trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence as his meaning was quite clear.

“Jesus, no. No. We all just danced as a group, nothing happened at all. I would never.” Niall lifted his eyebrows at that. Kat sighed. “I mean, never again. That was just a product of my serious feelings of loneliness and inadequacy at the time. And I'm not feeling that way at all now, so it's not going to happen. Again,” she added, for Niall's benefit.

He nodded, then went up to grab more food and talk to the craft service staff. Kat hurried to finish her own plate and got the hell out of there, shooting Niall a quick wave goodbye as she escaped.

*

Once she got over her embarrassment at finding out that Niall was aware of her interest in him, Kat started feeling really angry about it, particularly in light of the way he kept acting like nothing was wrong. Sure, it was awkward when someone liked you when you didn't return their feelings but the mature thing to do would be to talk to the person, not go behind their back and try to get them fired. Seriously not cool.

She had to work really hard to keep her resentment towards him under wraps, which given her temperament, wasn’t super easy for her to do. 

To make matters worse, sometimes it seemed like Niall (or God, really) was testing her, like when, a few weeks into her one-sided cold war with Niall, he (Niall, not God) asked her to film his ASL ice bucket challenge.

And the fucker (again, Niall, not God) wore a white t-shirt as though a mere wet shirt wasn't enough to torture her, it had to be see-through as well.

Because regular Niall wasn’t enough temptation apparently. Someone (God and Niall, maybe) felt like she needed Wet Niall to really feel the pain.

But she survived (thanks largely to her vibrator), and soon enough it was getting towards the end of the month, close to when her friends would be coming to the St. Louis show and her parents and sisters to one of the Chicago concerts, so she had stuff to look forward to. Kat was also hopeful that she might get to go home for a few days, as the band had more than a week off between the last Chicago show and their next concert in LA. She was pretty sure that Niall was going home as he’d mentioned something about it, but she didn’t see why she would have to fly all the way to London with him when she could just fly back home with her family after the Chicago concert.

Marnie and some of the other management type people were also coming to the St. Louis show, so Kat thought she’d just take the opportunity to ask Marnie in person, figuring it would be harder for her to turn her down face to face than over text or email. 

And she needed to make sure Niall knew to behave. “Look, I hate to ask this, but I have some friends coming to the show on Wednesday and Eric doesn’t know this isn’t real, so do you think you could … ?”

“Try? Sure.”

So that was sorted…

The day of the St. Louis show, Kat was all keyed up. She’d been texting with Becca and Eric all afternoon, trying to relay details about how they would get their tickets and backstage passes and where they would need to go once they got them. She was fairly certain that someone that worked at the arena could help guide them once they got in the building but she wanted to make sure everything was as easy as possible for them. 

The afternoon seemed to drag on forever. Kat could barely sit still, she tried everything she could to help the time pass faster -- playing ping pong with Harry, kicking a soccer ball with Louis and Zayn, doing a boxing workout with Liam and Mark -- none of which seemed to help. But eventually, Becca texted that they’d checked into their hotel, dropped their stuff off, and were on the way to the stadium. The guys were all getting ready so Kat was forced to pester the security staff as there was no one else to help distract her for those final 15 minutes. 

Kat screamed when she finally saw her friends, embarrassingly enough. And if only got worse as she started to tear up when she pulled them both into a big group hug. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you both so much! How was the flight? How’s the hotel? Did you have any problems figuring out your tickets and everything?”

“Good, good, no,” Eric said. “Easy peasy, just like your million instructions told us it would be.” 

“Hey, you mock but I wanted it to be as non-stressful for you as possible.”

“Well, it was, so mission accomplished,” Becca said, then looked around. “So this is what backstage looks like, huh? Not all that impressive, honestly.”

“Yeah, there’s not much to it, really. Do you guys want anything to eat? Or drink? There’s not any booze, I don’t think, but pretty much anything else. We can get drinks when we go out for the concert.”

“Not to be that guy, but where exactly is the band? I mean, obviously I’m just here to see you but I wouldn’t say no to getting to have some one on one time with Liam Payne. Or any of them, really. Not Niall though, I’ve already met him so he’s old news.”

“They’re getting changed, to get ready for the meet and greets that happen before the show.”

Eric peered down a hallway. “So you’re telling me they’re all naked somewhere close to us right now?”

“Yes, Eric, but sadly they don’t really walk around nude all that much. The nudity is largely confined to their dressing rooms.”

“‘All that much’? ‘Largely’? So you’re telling me they do sometimes?”

“How did I know you’d pick up on that? Only Harry really is naked regularly, although the other guys don’t wear shirts a lot of the time. And I’ve definitely seen them all in just their boxer briefs. Notice I’m not complaining about that at all.”

Once the guys were done getting dressed and each individually trickled out of their dressing rooms, Kat introduced them all to her friends, who she was very proud of for handling themselves so well. She’d seen enough fan/band interactions to know that not many people managed to pull that off but both Eric and Becca treated them like any other friend of Kat they were meeting, which she could tell charmed all of the guys as well. They didn’t get treated normally all that often so it was a nice change for them.

Niall was absolutely lovely, reintroducing himself to both of Kat’s friends as they’d all met before, and making sure they had everything to be comfortable and enjoy themselves. He’d even gotten t-shirts for each of them, which Kat had no idea he was doing. But she shouldn’t have been surprised. She knew how charming he could be when he tried. That was part of the problem, really.

Her friends absolutely loved the concert, even though she was pretty sure neither were really fans before this whole thing with Niall happened. But you wouldn’t know it looking at them at the show, they knew all the words and were dancing and yelling the whole night. She was lucky to have people like them in her life, that took on her interests as their own and had her back no matter what. Liam’s friend Andy was in town as well so he joined them, fitting right in with their friend group.

After the concert, it was decided that they’d go out dancing -- Eric and Becca left to go back to their hotel to change and get ready with the plan that they’d all meet up at the club in an hour. Of the band, only Liam and Niall were coming with, although Andy, Josh, and Sandy and a bunch of their security was coming too, so they were a fairly large group.

Kat decided to go all out with her outfit, wearing a short, tight black dress with no back. Which meant no bra but her boobs were small and perky enough to pull it off. Kat always looked at the option to go braless as the one pro of not having much in the way of boobage. 

She also used a much heavier hand with her makeup to compliment her outfit. The way things were going, she needed all the confidence she could get. 

Once she was ready, she knocked on Niall’s door. He was looking down when he let her in, patting his back pocket like he was making sure he had his wallet, mumbling an absentminded greeting to her. She walked by without him actually looking at her, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

So she saw every moment, from her shoes catching his downturned eye as she stepped in front of him, then his gaze following her legs up (admittedly, there was a lot more of her legs to see than he was used to), over her dress, to finally stop at her face, his eyes getting bigger and bigger as they moved up her body. 

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to say something. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but nothing came out. Kat remained silent. At first, it had been somewhat gratifying to see his perusal, as she had assumed he had been struck by how good she looked. She hadn’t dressed up for him, she honestly hadn’t, but having him appreciate her appearance would have been a very nice bonus. A tiny little “fuck you, I’m still hot even if you don’t want me” message from her to him.

But the longer he went without saying anything, the more Kat was internally squirming. Had she totally overdone it? Was the makeup too much? Or the dress? She felt like she looked the best she’d ever had in it as she was in better shape than she’d been when she originally purchased it last year, but it was possible she was wrong. 

Niall finally managed to string together a few words. “Kat, ya look … I mean, you’re … uh … wow.” 

“Good wow or bad wow?” Kat asked with a laugh, although now she had her confidence back. She was fairly certain that somewhere in that pathetic attempt at a sentence that Niall had just uttered was a compliment.

“Good wow. Great wow. Just … wow.”

Kat giggled, momentarily forgetting that she was mad at him. “Well, thanks then, I guess. You look pretty wow yourself.” And he really did: he was wearing a (very) fitted black patterned button down shirt and dark denim jeans. He had his hair styled in a side swoop, which she hadn’t seen him sport in quite a while. It was always a look she loved on him, though.

They got the rest of the group and headed for the club where Becca and Eric were waiting for them. The band’s security made sure they had a safe entry into the building, making a clear path and keeping fans back.

As they were walking in, Niall put his hand on her lower back to guide her, as he often did, but when he touched her bare skin he pulled back as if burned. Kat bit her lip to hold back her smile as she saw him look at her backside and move his hand up and down in the air behind her before realizing there was no safe territory for him to touch there, giving up and grabbing her hand instead. 

When they got to the VIP area, the first of which Kat had really been in, she saw that Marnie and Kim, from Modest! were there already. She’d spoken to them both briefly before the show but hadn’t know that they were babysitting them all for the night. Kat was kind of glad that Marnie was there, though, as she hadn’t gotten a chance earlier to talk about when she was going home next. 

While everyone was figuring out drinks and chatting, Becca pulled Kat onto one of the couches with her, putting her arm around her.

“Hey, this is coming from a place of love and concern but you look really thin, is everything okay? I didn’t notice earlier in your regular clothes but I can see a lot more of you in this.” Kat didn’t know Becca when she’d previously had issues with food and working out too much, but she’d told Becca about it after they'd become close, as she’d always benefitted from extra eyes looking out for her in that area.

At the moment, though, Kat regretted ever sharing anything about it. She attempted to brush her off. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been running a lot with Harry, good stress reliever, ya know?”

Becca looked at her closely, intent, then nodded her head and relaxed. “Maybe it’s just because I haven’t seen you in a month, forgot how you actually look or something.”

Kat laughed at that. “Maybe you just missed me so much it’s messing with your eyesight, like I’m some sort of friend mirage right now.”

“That could be it too, God knows I've missed you.” She pulled Kat into a big hug, which Kat gladly returned.

“I’ve missed you too, I’m so glad you could come tonight!”

Kat spent a decent portion of the night slyly dumping parts of her beers into Becca’s glass when Niall wasn’t looking. She knew herself too well and didn’t want to risk getting drunk enough that she told him off for trying to get her fired so he wouldn't have to be around her anymore. And Becca certainly didn’t mind the extra alcohol, giving Kat a thumbs up when she saw her do it.

She got Liam and Andy out to dance with the three Nebraskans a couple of times, but Niall was always busy talking: with Kim; with Al, his replacement security guard; with Josh and Sandy, with her friends from home when they weren’t dancing with her. The night passed in a blur of loud music and laughing, all of them ignoring the stares and cameras pointed their way and having a great time. When she wasn’t dancing, Kat made sure to spend the majority of her time by Niall’s side, knowing that it would be noted if she didn’t.

Kat eventually found an opportunity to talk to Marnie about what was happening after the Chicago concerts, but before she could even ask to go home, Marnie told her that she was to go back to London with Niall. Kat tried to see if it was possible if she could at least go home for a couple of days and then go to London, but Marnie shut her down immediately, pissing Kat off.

“They have a week off and we're literally a fifty minute flight from my house, why the hell can't I go home?” Kat asked, her voice rising.

Marnie grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she said through her teeth, “Katherine, you are not to talk about this in public, need I remind you of your contract and what's at stake here? You're needed in London, so London is where you'll be, is that clear?”

“Oh it's clear. Is that all?”

“On that subject, yes, that's all. However, I'd like to see some affection between the two of you tonight, as it's been some time since we’ve had any photos of the two of you kissing.”

“You sure know how to make a girl feel like a whore, thanks for that, Marnie.” Kat stomped back to the table, turning her head and brushing away angry tears before anyone could see her.

She slid back under Niall’s arm where he was sitting at a booth, determined to enjoy the little time she had left with her friends. As soon as he could politely duck out of the group conversation he was a part of, he whispered into her ear, “What was that all about? You okay?”

“Yeah, it's fine. Just a little misunderstanding,” Kat replied, not feeling like going into it with him.

“About?” Niall prodded.

“I thought I was going to get to go home for a week after the Chicago shows. I thought wrong, apparently.”

Niall brushed some hair behind her ear, staying close so he could continue to speak to her. “I shoulda seen that comin’, sorry. The LIC are throwin’ me a birthday party on the 6th, makes sense they'd want you there.”

“It's fine, no worries.” In an effort to avoid looking at him, Kat's eyes wandered around their group, seeing Eric and Becca being charmed by Liam and Andy. Becca saw her watching them and shot her a concerned look, which Kat dismissed with a minute shake of her head and a small smile. Kat glanced at Marnie, who gave a jerk of her head to the dance floor, her wishes quite clear.

“Babe, do you wanna dance? You haven’t been out there all night,” she asked Niall, loud enough that her voice would carry. _See Marnie, I can play my part just fine._

“Sure, why not?”

As Kat led him to the dance floor, his arm around her waist, she told him, “As a warning, Marnie reminded me that we're due for some public kissing. Dance floor might be the easiest way to knock that out. Rather not do it right in front of my friends if I don’t have to.”

He nodded absentmindedly, looking like he wasn’t really listening. His eyes were focused on the mass of dancing bodies in front of them, likely second guessing his decision to dance with her. She’d momentarily forgotten about his claustrophobia and anxiety when surrounded by too many people so she hoped he wouldn’t have any issues. No matter how angry she was with him, she would never try to put him in a situation that could potentially cause an attack.

Once they’d reached the dance floor, Kat found them a somewhat open piece of real estate and tugged Niall after her. She pulled his head down to hers and spoke directly into his ear, “If it’s too much for you out here, with all these people, you just say the word and we’ll leave, immediately, okay?”

“I’m fine, it’s fine. But thanks.”

“No problem.” Kat stepped back, dancing a bit while Niall just stood there and watched. 

“This is … unexpected. You can really dance,” Niall said with wonder, his gaze focused on her hips.

Kat restrained herself from rolling her eyes, but just barely. “Thanks, I guess. You’re not really moving though, c’mon.”

For all that the band made constant jokes about what terrible dancers they were, Kat had seen them mess around enough to know that they were all actually pretty decent. You don’t get to be a professional musician without developing a good sense of rhythm and that was half the battle with dancing, she’d found. 

Niall completely proved her theory right when he stepped in close to her and placed his hands on her waist, moving his hips in time with hers. She kept her hands on his chest, letting the music guide her and trying to let go as much as she could. She really did love to dance and it didn’t take long before she was getting into it and having fun, despite everything that was going on. Picking up on her mood, Niall grinned down at her, his eyes roving down her body as he too relaxed and really began dancing. 

Looking up at his shining eyes and bright smile, Kat’s heart ached, trying to reconcile the man in front of her with how he’d tried to fuck her over. But as that wasn’t something she wanted to focus on at the moment, she turned around, her back flush with his front, as they continued to dance. A bit later, without intending to, she caught Marnie’s eye again, as her gaze was laser locked on their every movement.

So fucking done with the watchful eyes on them, Kat muttered, “They want a show? We’ll give ‘em a show.” Although the music was so loud that no one, not even Niall, could hear her.

She whipped around and threw her arms around Niall’s neck once they were face to face again and gave him a long, dirty kiss. Which Niall enthusiastically returned, his hands running up and down her sides, before settling low on her back, at the top of her ass, pulling her in close to his body. His noticeably aroused body, she couldn’t help but feel. 

To punish him a bit, Kat slowly swiveled her hips into his as the kiss continued, trying to make him as uncomfortably hard as possible. She wasn’t proud of her behavior -- she knew it was a mean thing to do -- but she felt like it was the only revenge she could exact on him at the moment. 

Niall’s fingers dug into the bare skin on her back before he moved his hands up to her face, cupping her jaw between his palms. When Kat pulled back to breathe, he tightened his grip, keeping her close and resting his forehead against hers. Kat sucked in some much needed air and then he was kissing her again, his tongue delving deep into her mouth as their bodies writhed against each other. 

A few moments later, Niall broke off the kiss, looking around quickly, as though he’d suddenly just remembered where they were, in public, with people surrounding them. They resumed dancing, Kat avoiding eye contact, until the song ended. 

As they were making their way off the dance floor, the DJ started an Ellie Goulding song, making Kat grimace and shake her head. She highly doubted it was a coincidence as everyone in the club knew Liam and Niall were there and it really pissed her off that they'd do that, as it was pretty fucking mean spirited thing to direct at Niall and her as well. Dicks.

When they got back to the table, the group was settling the bill and getting ready to leave as it was close to closing time, Becca and Eric’s uber already on its way to the club. Their impending departure gave Kat the perfect opportunity to get some space from Niall, as she went over to say goodbye. She walked by Marnie on the way, who gave her an icy glare, no doubt unimpressed by the gratuitous way Kat had followed her orders. Kat just smiled back at her, controlling her urge to flip her off as she and Kim left. 

Becca pulled Kat in close, whispering into her ear, “What the fuck’s going on with you two?”

Kat just looked at her with tired eyes and shrugged. “It's … too much to get into right now. We'll talk more later, okay?”

As she hugged Eric, he said, “Jesus, you two had some serious sexual tension going on tonight. I was kinda worried earlier--I could tell there was something off with you, and then you and Niall didn't seem like you were doing well but after what I just watched between you two on that dance floor, never mind. You fighting with him just for the hot makeup sex, or what?” 

Kat feigned a naughty smile, which was hard considering she felt kind of sick about the whole situation. “Maybe. He gets worked up when he knows I'm pissed at him and it's pretty fucking sexy.”

“I can see that. Um, wait, I _did_ see that. You’re a lucky little minx, Katherine, remember that.”

“Yeah yeah,” Kat laughed. 

“I tease, but really, he’s the lucky one,” Eric said, always loyal, as he patted her cheek just before Kat felt a hand slide around her midsection and Niall’s chin dropped onto her shoulder from behind. 

“And I fuckin’ know it, ya don’t need to worry that I don’t,” Niall said, having heard Eric’s last statement. He nuzzled into her neck, planting a soft kiss just below her ear. Kat kept her eyes downcast, not wanting her expression to reveal anything to Eric. Niall’d certainly done his best to make everything look believable, which she appreciated. It should have made her feel slightly less angry at him but it didn’t, really. She couldn’t really feel anything but pissed at him.

Then Becca and Eric were gone and it was just her and Niall left in their area of the VIP section, Kat already missing her friends. And not just because she didn’t want to be alone with Niall. Al returned, telling them that Liam and Andy were having a smoke and waiting out the back entrance for their ride home.

The moment they met up with the other guys outside, Kat ran over and tucked herself under Liam’s arm. She felt Niall’s eyes lingering on her as Liam laughed. “Whoa, careful Kat, I’m a sweaty mess from all that dancin’.”

“I don’t mind, you’re still Liam. And I love me some Liam.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Niall trying to adjust himself discreetly, which did nothing to disguise the fairly prominent bulge he had going on down there. _Ha, serves him right_ , she thought, although she knew it was likely only friction that had led to his current state, rather than any real interest in her.

She chatted with Liam and Andy on the ride home, studiously avoiding engaging Niall in the conversation if at all possible. When they got to the hotel, Liam and Andy got out first, Paddy walking them into the building. Al ushered Niall and Kat out of the vehicle shortly after. 

“We should probably, ya know, in case they’re any fans in the lobby or somethin’,” Niall explained as he grabbed her hand, pulling her in closer to him. She fixed a polite smile on her face, grasping his elbow with her opposite hand when it became obvious that he was right and came across several curious faces on the way to the elevators, although everyone kept their distance.

She could feel the eyes continue to track their progress as they waited at the bank of elevators, so she held fast to his hand and cuddled up next to him. Niall was clearly aware of the attention as well; he turned into her and tipped her chin up, placing a soft kiss on her lips just before the loud ding announced the arrival of the transport up to their rooms.

His job done for the evening, Al told them goodnight, saying that he was going to meet up with some of the crew for a nightcap in the hotel bar.

Once in the elevator car, when the doors were safely closed behind them, Kat pulled her hand from Niall’s and stepped away, as far as she could in the close confines of the space. Niall fixed her with a questioning look that was reflected in the elevator’s mirrored interior.

“What?” she asked, trying not to sound defensive.

“Nothin’. Ya just seem … different tonight.”

“Do I? I guess I’m a bit tired. Long day.” 

Kat could see that Niall didn’t buy it, but before he could push her any further on the topic, the elevator doors opened up onto their floor. Kat sped walked to her room, as fast as her heels could take her, Niall trying to keep up at first, then dropping back. When she got to her door, she glanced back down the hall to find Niall standing frozen in place a distance away, his brow furrowed as he watched her basically run away from him. 

Kat had to fight against her instincts to go to him and apologize for being a dick, for making him feel bad. To combat that, she mentally replayed the part of his phone conversation where he said how he felt like he was leading her on every time he held her hand and felt her resolve return, her chin lifting up.

“Night,” she called out to him, then disappeared into her room, one more day done.

Only a couple hundred left to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on [Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) if you ever have a question or any suggestions!
> 
> If you like the story, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry) on Tumblr, thanks!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all of you and I love your amazing, hilarious, witty comments you leave every week! I need to get around to answering them but know that I read every one and crack up constantly when I'm reading them, you people are the best!

“What was that all about?” Niall asked once they were safely in the car to the hotel.

“Oh, the tongue thing? I was just trying out something different. What did you think? I thought it was kind of fun.”

“Sure, it was fine, I ‘spose.” He shrugged.

“Not exactly a ringing endorsement but whatever. I figure when else in my life will I get to just experiment with this sort of stuff? I mean, there’s no need for me to impress you as you’re forced to kiss me regardless. So I might as well improve my skills by trying out some new stuff so I’ll be all the better for this experience when I can date again. Pretty brilliant, if I do say so myself, right?”

“Yeah, brilliant.” Despite his words, Niall didn’t seem terribly impressed.

Kat couldn’t be assed to care. As penance for the somewhat R rated (or at least PG-13) kissing she and Niall had done at the club, Marnie had sent Kat a very terse text requesting that they do something a bit more family friendly, specifically for some tipped-off photographers that would be waiting for them at the airport in Chicago. 

So they’d done it, despite how ridiculous it was that they’d just kiss at the airport for no apparent reason (they were traveling together, in what world couldn’t they wait until they got in their rented car to make out? But as per usual, 1DHQ did not give a shit about what was rational or believable) and Kat had decided to try out this new technique she’d read about online. Which apparently didn’t really meet with the Niall J. Horan seal of approval. 

Which was fine with Kat.

Her sights were set on the upcoming arrival of her parents and sisters. What she wasn’t allowing herself to think about, however, was that after their visit, she basically had nothing to look forward to. Because she still had no idea when she was going home again -- after Chicago, she was going home to London with Niall for 10 days, then the tour started up again in California and the way things were going with Marnie, Kat didn’t foresee a break for herself until the tour was done in October. 

Which seemed like an eternity. Things were nowhere near as bad as they were originally, as she had the other four members of One Direction to hang out with and it’s not like Niall was mean to her or anything. If anything, she was the distant one this time and he was the sad, confused little puppy about it. She totally understood now what Niall was saying when he talked about how hard it was to deal with her hurt facial expressions whenever he was mean to her as she was now getting those same looks frequently.

She had to keep reminding herself that it was a totally different situation, though, and that he fully deserved the cold shoulder. 

But lately, Niall had been working harder and harder to get back into her good graces, being sweet and charming, and when that didn’t work, teasing her like he used to, trying to get any sort of reaction out of her. She’d been able to handle everything fine so far, but it was only a matter of time before she flipped out on him, she knew it. 

She was encouraged, though, that his efforts would mean he’d be on his absolute best behavior for her family, so she wasn’t worried about that at all. They were staying with some family friends in the city that would be joining them for the actual concert, but it was just her parents and her sisters before the show and Kat really wanted them to have a great time. 

Although it wouldn’t be hard at all to impress the girls, they were beside themselves when Kat had talked to them, knowing they were going to get to meet the band and spend some time with them. Kat couldn’t imagine how she’d have felt in their shoes at their ages, getting to actually meet your idols. She was happy she could give them this experience, not that she was really doing anything. But at least she could facilitate it.

Her sisters were literally vibrating with excitement when Kat met them at the doors to the football stadium the band was playing in that night. Her dad seemed much more impressed with the actual facility than the band that was going to be playing in, which didn’t surprise Kat in the slightest. 

What did surprise her, however, was the interrogation she got from her mom the minute they had a moment alone, when Al was giving her dad and sisters a tour of the facility prior to meeting the guys. 

“So when are you coming home? You can’t get any substitute jobs if you’re not even in the state,” her mom asked, and while Kat could tell she was trying to keep her tone light and non-judgmental, she wasn’t necessarily doing the best job at it. 

“Um, yeah, I’m not sure?” Kat said brightly, trying not to squirm in discomfort. “It’s Niall’s birthday in a couple of weeks and his friends are throwing him a party in London so I definitely want to be there for that. But that’s like a week before his actual birthday, so I’ll stay for that too. So maybe the end of September? Or early October.” While part of her wanted to lie to avoid the fight she could see coming, she figured it was better to be closer to the truth so she didn’t have to have the same argument again in a few weeks. 

“We’re aware of Niall’s birthday; the girls told us it was coming up, but I didn’t think that would factor into your plans so heavily. It doesn’t seem like you’re taking this very seriously, Kat. You know how much we like Niall, but you can’t put a boy before your own career. I can’t believe I need to remind you about that.”

“Of course not, Mom, but it’s not like I have an actual job. I have the possibility of a job at some point. Maybe, if they get far enough down the sub list to get to me. So no, I’m not all that anxious to go home and just sit and wait for the phone to ring. I’m helping with another online course for my professor which I can do from anywhere so I don’t really see the harm in staying with the tour for another month.”

“Are you afraid that if you go home he’ll forget about you, is that it?” her mom asked, looking at Kat closely. 

“No, sheesh. Ouch, though, that you think I’m that forgettable.” Kat didn’t have to feign the hurt in her tone.

“I don’t think that, honey, I’m just trying to understand your insistence on always being with Niall. You’ve never been this way with anyone you’ve dated before. Of course, none of them were world famous musicians but I doubt that’s the only reason you’re doing this. I know you’re not that superficial. Help me understand what’s going on here.”

“I’m having fun, Mom, and I really like Niall and this is a once in a lifetime experience. I think most people would behave the same in my situation. It’s really not that deep.” Kat was fairly proud of how she handled the grilling her mom was giving her, especially since she hadn’t really anticipated it. 

“Well, at some point you’re not going to be able to be by his side, Kat, and you need to figure out if your relationship can survive that. If you can’t trust him, you’d be better off knowing that sooner rather than later.”

“Jesus, I thought you liked Niall, where’s this all coming from?”

“Kat, language. And of course I like Niall. But my loyalty is to you. You’re my daughter, you’re the one I’m concerned with. Niall will be fine.”

“I see, Niall would be fine without me but you’re worried I wouldn’t be fine without him?” Kat retorted, her voice rising.

“Kat, why are you so defensive about this? I’m honestly just looking out for you, I don’t have anything against Niall in the slightest but, like I said, my first responsibility is to you, always, and I just want to make sure you’ve thought everything through. But I’m done now, I won’t say another word about it as I’ve clearly offended you enough.”

Kat sighed. Her mom was right: she was defensive. Mostly because she was feeling super vulnerable after Niall’s reaction to her interest in him. She knew it wasn’t fair to take it out on her mom though, particularly as she wasn’t going to be seeing her again for a quite a while. 

“I’m sorry, you just hit a nerve. I might be a little bit more insecure about our relationship than I’d like to admit. I do hear what you’re saying and I agree with a lot of it. I promise we’ll spend some time apart once the tour ends and we’ll see how that goes. Thank you so much for looking out for me, I really do appreciate you, even if I have a crap way of showing it.” Kat hugged her mom tightly.

Her mom returned her embrace. “You have nothing to feel insecure about, Kat. You’re an amazing girl and it’s very obvious to everyone that Niall recognizes that. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Her sisters cried about as much as she expected them to when they met the band, but the guys were all so great with them that they quickly got themselves back under control. Niall was adorable with them, introducing them to each of the band members like they should be honored to meet the girls instead of the other way around. He was patient with them when they freaked out as were his band mates, as this was hardly the first time they’d dealt with crying fans. 

The girls had brought birthday presents for both Liam, whose birthday was that day, and Niall, as they wouldn’t see him before then. When she realized it was present time, Kat ran and got her gift for Liam as well, a Batman cross stitch she’d made him, putting in long hours to get it done in time. 

Even her parents got in on the action, getting Niall a Husker shirt, which Kat hadn’t expected at all. Judging by his reaction, neither had Niall. He’d gotten really flustered and thanked them both profusely, much more than a simple t-shirt really warranted. 

“Shirts are kind of their go-to gift, sorry,” she whispered, when the others were distracted by something the girls were asking Zayn. “You don’t have to wear it or anything.”

“No, it’s great. I really like it. Can’t believe they got me a birthday present, that’s really nice of ‘em.”

“Yeah, that’s my mom for you. Never misses a birthday or holiday.”

“That cross stitch ya made for Liam’s pretty cool, seems like you’re following in her footsteps in the gift-giving department.”

“I try but I’m way more forgetful about it than she is. Especially if I’m not around a person, I just totally space it off.”

“Should I be expectin’ me own cross stitch in a couple of weeks?” Niall asked, smiling at her.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Kat said, trying to make a joke but it fell flat, her tone not quite conveying the needed levity to carry it off. 

And of course Niall looked like a hurt puppy, flashing his wounded eyes at her before he mumbled something and took off. 

Making Kat feel, once again, like a total jerk. Ugh.

Particularly as that same wounded puppy continued to go out of his way to make sure her family had the best backstage experience possible. He introduced them to anyone and everyone that came by, taking pictures of the girls with anyone they even seemed to recognize. Treating them like family, pretty much.

Did he have to be so amazing in public when she knew behind closed doors he was a snake??

Louis grabbed her before the show started, pulling her into his dressing room so they could talk in private. “What’s going on with Niall?”

“What do you mean?’ Kat played dumb.

Louis narrowed his eyes at her.

Kat exhaled. She figured that one of the guys would notice eventually; she actually couldn’t believe she’d gotten this far without some questioning. “Alright, alright. Well, if you must know, I overheard him telling someone from management that he wanted me gone, that it was obvious that I was into him and that it was -- how did he put it? -- ‘awkward as hell’ or something like that. So, yeah, little bit of tension right now.”

“Jesus. Does Niall know that you know?”

“No, and you’d better not fucking tell him.”

“I wouldn’t, calm down.” Louis had on his thinking face, clearly wanting to solve the problem. But Kat was pretty sure this was beyond even him. 

“You can’t fix this one, Lou, don’t worry about it. I’m okay, Niall’s okay, everything’s good.”

“Neither one of ya is okay, Kat, otherwise I wouldn’t be talkin’ to ya about it. I’ll think on it, figure somethin’ out. Chin up, love.” He gave her a hug.

She tucked her nose into his neck, snuggling in and enjoying the contact. “Always. Thanks, appreciate how you’re always looking out for me.”

“Always,” he said, repeating her answer back to her with a wink. 

Kat watched the concert with her family and it was like the first time she was seeing One Direction, getting to experience it through her sisters’ eyes. She had an absolutely amazing time and all the members of the band made sure to pay special attention to them, making the girls feel like VIPs. Niall even said a special hello to them between the songs, which started them crying all over again. 

But then it was over, and just like that, they were gone. It didn’t even make sense for her to go stay with her family as everyone was just going to bed, so they made plans to meet up for brunch that next day before they flew home. 

Kat was quiet on the way back to the hotel, following Niall’s lead without really paying much attention to what she was doing. 

When they got to their floor, Niall followed her into her room, even though she didn’t remember inviting him in.

“Ya gonna be okay? I know ya were hopin’ to go home and now with your parents and sisters leavin’, ya must be feelin’ pretty upset.”

“I’m fine, Niall, thanks,” Kat said, sitting down on the bed to take off her shoes. How was she going to get him out of here, and quickly?

“Fine in Kat-speak isn’t really fine. You can talk to me, ya know?”

“Yes, Niall, I know,” Kat responded, her teeth gritted as she bent over, untying her shoe laces. God, why wouldn’t he just leave?

“Or if you’d rather, I could get Dan? Or Zayn, for that matter? Maybe you’d feel more comfortable with one of them?” Niall asked, his tone bitter.

That got Kat’s attention and she popped up, shooting him a dirty look. “What the fuck?”

“Well, ya don’t seem to want to talk to me about anythin’ anymore, don’t ever even want to be around me, so I just thought --” 

“Why are you trying so hard to get a reaction out of me? I thought you’d be happy, I’m not all over you like I used to be!” Kat exploded.

Niall stood up as well, giving her a confused look. “What are ya talkin’ about? When did I ever complain about how ya act around me?”

Kat decided to lay her cards all out on the table. “Not to me, you didn’t. But I overheard your phone conversation with Marnie, or whoever with management, about how pathetic I was, that it was so obvious that I was into you.” Niall's face dropped and he looked instantly sick to his stomach, the very picture of getting caught out talking shit about someone.

She continued, not feeling bad for him in the slightest, “And while it hurt hearing it, you were right. Despite the fact that it was stupid beyond belief, that you were barely even nice to me for the first few months I knew you, I DID have a crush on you. I was being pathetic. Hearing you say it was just the kick in the pants I needed. So I’ve tried to be more professional, to give you your space when I can. But ever since I have, you just keep trying to antagonize me whenever you can. I just can’t seem to please you, Niall.”

“I’m sure ya could if ya really tried, Kat,” he said, trying to tease her, giving her an over exaggerated leer.

“Jesus fuck Niall, do you really have to make a joke of this right now? You know what? Get out of here. I’m done. So done.” When he made no move to leave her room, Kat pushed him none-too-gently in the chest.

Niall grabbed her wrists and held on, keeping her close. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made a joke. I do that when I get uncomfortable, ya know that. And I shouldn’t have said that stuff to Marnie, I’m sorry ya had to hear that. I think I was just trying to put it all on you but I'm as much to blame.”

“You can say whatever you want but you were legitimately trying to get rid of me.”

“Because I didn't -- I mean, I don't -- want ya to get hurt. I think you're fantastic, Kat, you've got to know that by this point, but I'm not lookin’ for a relationship, not anything real. And I worry that if we continue the way we are, both of us into each other and bein’ forced into the same place, forced into kissin’ all the time, somethin’s gonna happen. And that could fuck everythin’ up.”

Kat’s heart fluttered a bit at his response, his acknowledgment that he was interested in her as well, even if it was only sexually. But it wasn't even close to making up for what he'd done, she couldn’t let him off the hook that easily. “So your answer to that was to get me fired. So I’d have done this all for nothing, wasted my entire summer, probably irreparably harmed my chance of ever getting a teaching job, and still have my stupid student loans to pay back? That’s really considerate of you.”

“I would’ve paid those for ya, Kat. Hell, I’ll pay ‘em off for ya today if ya want. I just thought … well, I wasn’t really thinkin’ all that much, to be honest. I mean, I didn’t really think it through.” Seemingly without thought, he rubbed his thumbs over the inside of her wrists, making it hard for her to focus on what was going on. 

The fact that her 80K in student loans could be so easily handled by him was a great reminder of the distance between their lives, why he didn’t truly understand why she’d even taken this job. And she was incredibly hurt that he apparently hadn’t even put all that much thought into it when he’d requested that Kat be let go. Just a casual thought that had passed his mind and he went through with it, hoping he’d never have to see her again. 

She forcibly pulled her wrists out of his grip. “I need some air, I’ll talk to you later.”

He took a step after her. “Kat …”

“Niall, stop. Please. Just give me some time. I promise I’ll come talk to you in the morning, okay?”

Niall sighed, not liking what she was saying but recognizing that he shouldn’t push it. “I’ll go, it’s your room. And I’m really fuckin’ sorry, Kat, you’ve gotta know that. I know that doesn’t make it okay but … I fucked up. I know I did. I hate that ya had to hear me say all that stuff, it was bullshit, Kat, all of it.”

Kat just looked at him, too emotionally drained to keep engaging with him. She really just needed him to leave because she was seconds away from crying and she refused to do that in front of him. 

It must have shown on her face because his own expression fell and he started to come towards her again. Kat held up both hands to ward him off and he stopped immediately.

He turned and headed towards the door to leave but turned just before he opened it to face her, his eyes sad. “One last thing and I’ll go. You’re not pathetic, Kat, you’re the furthest thing from it.”

He tilted his head towards the ceiling, eyes closed, looking like he was about to say something else. But he didn't, just looked at Kat again, then walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

Kat had thought she was going to break down the minute he was gone, but instead found herself numb. She sat down hard on the bed, resting her face in her hands and sighed, the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

So now what?

*

Kat got up early the next morning as usual and ran, hoping it would give her time to think about what she wanted to say to Niall. She’d tossed and turned all night but hadn’t really put any energy into thinking about how they were going to fix this, if fixing it was even an option.

But her run didn’t provide her with any new clarity on the subject.

After she’d showered, she sent Niall a text, telling him to come over whenever he’d like, but that she had to leave in an hour to go eat with her parents. 

He was at her door two minutes later.

“C’mon in,” she said, stepping back so he could follow her into the room. She waved him over to the chair in the corner and she perched on the edge of her bed, sitting cross legged. 

“Do ya wanna start, since I did most of the talkin’ at the end last night?” Niall asked, his voice quiet and careful. “I won’t interrupt, I promise. Or I can go if you’d rather, whatever ya want.”

Kat nodded, unable to make eye contact with him, instead staring at his feet as she began, “Um, sure, I can go first, I guess. I don’t know how much more I have to say, really, but obviously I was just really hurt when I overheard your conversation. I realize that it’s awkward when someone likes you and you don’t return their feelings -- I mean, I’ve been there -- but I wish you would have just talked to me about it so we could have dealt with it that way. It would have been super embarrassing for me, of course, but it felt way worse knowing that you were going behind my back to get rid of me.”

She took a deep breath, then glanced up at him quickly before looking down again. “I’m not … I never … I know we’re not going to really date, okay? I get that, I’ve never thought anything was going to really happen between us, seriously. I had a bit of a crush but I was completely fine with nothing coming from it. I wouldn’t have ever made a move or done anything like that, it was pretty innocent on my part and I was trying hard to keep it under wraps so you wouldn’t know, but I obviously failed.

But it sucked that you just wanted me gone because of it, that apparently my crush on you was so horrible that you didn’t want to ever see me again. I don’t think I did anything to you to deserve that, no matter how many times I go over everything in my head.

And I heard everything you said last night but I guess I’m not sure how it all fits in with what you did when you called Marnie? So maybe you should explain it to me so I can understand your point of view a bit better.”

There. She’d said her piece, and stayed pretty calm while doing so. 

Kat looked up at Niall, wanting to give him her full attention. She was startled to see how upset he seemed, his jaw clenched and his eyes burning as he looked at her. “Niall?” she asked timidly.

He ducked his head, running both hands through his hair and pulling on it harshly, before he responded, face in his hands, “I’m such a fuckin’ asshole.”

And then nothing. Kat just sat there for a minute, waiting for him to say something else.

When it didn’t appear he would, Kat felt like maybe she should say something, not that she knew what that something was. So she went with the ever classic, “Um.”

After another beat of silence, Niall started speaking, his voice muffled by his palms, “Kat, you didn’t do anythin’ wrong. I can’t even remember that phone call to Marnie very well; I did that when I was scared, and then I was angry ‘cause I was scared, so I have no idea what I actually said. Not that it makes it okay and I’m so sorry that what I did say hurt ya.”

He finally lifted his head up a bit, although he just stared at the floor instead of Kat’s face, much like she had done when she was talking to him. “I just panicked -- we’d had a couple of great days together and it was startin’ to feel like it was inevitable, that we were gonna hook up. I mean, I wasn’t positive or anythin’ but I thought ya might be as into me as I was you. Which it sounds like ya were, now that we’re actually talkin’ about it, like we shoulda done then. 

And while a big part of me was all for it, or a certain part, at least,” he said then snorted, but continued on, realizing it wasn’t the right moment to make that particular joke, “I knew it was a terrible idea. If my experience with Sophia taught me anythin’, it would likely just get messy and I don’t want that for us. With Soph, we weren’t really friends before and, not to be a dick, but I didn’t really care all that much if we were friends after and it was still a mess.

So …. yeah. That’s where I am. And again, I’m so sorry about callin’ Marnie and askin’ her to fire ya. I honestly wasn’t thinkin’ straight at all and it was a fuckin’ dumb thing to do. I didn’t do it ‘cause I hated ya or didn’t want to see ya anymore at all. At that moment, it was the only thing I could think of to keep us from endin’ up ruinin’ our friendship. I know that sounds like bullshit but it’s the truth. I was just tryin’ to run away from what was goin’ on.”

Kat had to ask, her voice quiet, “Did I really make you uncomfortable? I hate that I might have made you feel that way.”

Niall stared right at her as he said, “Kat, the only thing you made uncomfortable was me cock, honestly. ‘M sorry for bein’ so crude, but … yeah.”

Kat just stared back at him, her mouth hanging open. And then the giggles hit. She laughed so hard that she tipped over on the bed, tears trickling down her cheeks.

“God, it’s good to see ya laughin’ again. I can make a dick joke anytime if it’ll make ya that happy.”

Once she’d gotten herself back under control and she was sitting upright again, Kat asked the question that had been on her mind since the night before, “So now what?”

“I dunno? We just agree to not hook up, I guess?”

Kat laughed again. “That doesn’t sound so hard, does it? Surely you’ve had friends you were attracted to before that you managed to not sleep with?”

“‘Course, but not ones that I was pretendin’ to date. Not ones that I had to kiss all the time.”

“Yeah, that does add a wrinkle to this, doesn’t it? I guess we can try to keep the kisses a little more, uh, innocent or whatever. That should help, right?”

He nodded. “And just knowin’ we’re both on the same page, that should make this so much easier. We can warn each other if things start gettin’ a little out of hand.”

“I think I can do that.”

“Me too.”

“And maybe you can just try to be a little less charming or something. Maybe that will help,” she teased.

“Kat, I’d love to help ya out with that but I don’t know if it’s possible,” Niall joked. They both smiled at each other and it was silent for a moment.

“Are you certain we shouldn’t just fuck once to get it out of our systems?” Kat asked. Niall visibly startled, then grabbed the underside of his thighs as he rocked forward a little bit. “I’m kidding, Niall, calm down.”

“Jesus. Add jokes like that to the list of things we shouldn’t do. Don’t put ideas in my head, woman.”

“Oh, you’re telling me you haven’t thought about it before I just said that?” Kat couldn’t help but ask, her eyes sparkling.

“I’ve thought about it in extreme detail, Kat, believe me. Many times. And if I thought that would work, that we could just have one night and be done with it and everythin’ would stay the same, I’d be all for it.”

Kat’s cheeks felt very hot and she couldn’t look him in the eye, for a very different reason than before. “Okay, that’s on me, I’m sorry for bringing that up, even as a joke. Changing the subject now. I … um… oh, uh, yeah, I have brunch with my fam, I actually have to leave here in a couple of minutes.”

“So that’s real? Wasn’t sure if ya just said that to make sure this didn’t take too long.”

“No, it’s totally real. It better be, anyway, I’m starving.”

“Am I invited?”

“Sure, why not? Do you need Al or someone else to come with too?” If she was being honest, Kat would rather Niall didn’t go, so she could use the cab ride there to actually think about and process everything he had just said ( _like that he’d imagined them having sex??!?!?!?!?_ ), but she knew her family would love to see him, plus if felt important to include him like she had when they were friends, to show him that she was willing to let what had happened be forgiven if not forgotten. She could stew on their discussion later in the afternoon when she had time to herself.

“I think I’ll be alright. I’ll go grab a hat.”

“You can use that Husker one of mine that you stole. That’s what got us into this whole mess, it only seems fitting.” At his curious look, Kat explained, “That’s how I overheard your phone call, I got your room key from Louis to take back my hat from you. Only you were there and on your phone with Marnie, so, needless to say, I never got it.”

“Ah, I see. I was clearly cursed by stealin’ it. Maybe I shouldn’t wear it then.”

“Nah, wear it, the poor thing needs some new positive energy. In fact, why don’t you keep it? Consider it an early birthday present.”

“Thanks,” he laughed, then headed to go get it.

“And Niall? It won’t be your only one, I promise. I may be already working on a cross stitch for you as well.”

Niall’s loud “yes” echoed down the hall as he jogged out of her room, fists raised in victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hi, chat about Niall Horan, ask a question, whatever--[my Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)!
> 
>  
> 
> [Story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a bit late! Hope it's worth the wait!

“God, I’m sorry that I’m just always here. I mean, I know you don’t hate me anymore, but I wish they wouldn’t make me have to always be following you around, you barely get any time without me. You’re going to hate me again by the end of this year,” Kat said, her voice slow and tired. She had her head rested against Niall’s shoulder.

“I doubt it. I don’t much like to be on me own, so it works out just fine for me. And I actually do like ya, ya know. Pretty sure we talked about it before.” Niall patted her knee.

“I know, but still…” Kat trailed off.

“But nothin’. You’re me mate and a good addition to any group; I mean, everyone that you’ve met adores ya, so it’s not just me. We’re lucky to have ya.”

“Well, I’m lucky to have you, Niall Horan. Best fake boyfriend ever.”

“‘Cept for the months of bein’ a prick to ya and then tryin’ to get ya fired ‘cause I liked ya too much.”

“Of course, except for that. Minor details.”

They’d been back in London for a few days and were on their way home from going out with some of his LIC (London Irish Crew) friends -- basically a bunch of Irish people now living in England including Bressie and Eoghan -- to see 5 Seconds of Summer at the iTunes Festival. 

It was the second time she had seen several of the LIC members, as they’d goneout to the bars a few nights ago with Ashton from 5SOS and some of the LIC. They were a fun bunch and Eoghan had handled the introductions all around that night, tucking her under his arm as though they were already close friends, deliberately giving her his seal of approval, so Kat felt warmly welcomed by them all. Sadly, Bressie wasn’t there either night. Kat had hidden her disappointment about that pretty well, she thought.

Her personal favorites of the group (besides Niall and Eoghan [and Bressie], of course) were Greg and Laura. Greg was absolutely hilarious and made her feel right at home in their little club of sorts. Laura was stunningly gorgeous but a complete goof. And you could tell that she adored Niall and looked out for him.

Kat wasn’t entirely sure if any of them knew the reality behind her and Niall’s relationship but figured that she’d assume they didn’t know, and act accordingly. Not that she did the full-on girlfriend behavior they did in front of the public, but something more similar to how she’d treat him if they actually were dating.

It hadn't taken long for Kat and Niall to return to the former state of comfort they had had between them -- he'd been so lovely with her parents and their friends that day at brunch that Kat’s mom had finally lost that lingering concerned look she'd sported for much of the night before. It wasn’t just that Niall was charming -- anyone could be charming. Instead, Niall was completely sincere in his interest in people, asking questions and actively listening to their answers, leaning in and focusing on them like what they were saying was of vital importance to him. 

It was pretty darn endearing.

There had been a slight dust up at the end of the meal when Niall had paid for everything before anyone had realized he had -- he’d slipped the waiter his credit card when he’d run to the restroom and the bill never came to the table. When Kat’s dad had realized what had happened, he wasn’t very happy about it but calmed down relatively quickly when Niall and Kat teamed up to tease him out of his bad mood. 

And needless to say, her sisters couldn't be more in love with Niall. He spent at least 10 minutes during breakfast taking a variety of selfies with the two of them, even posting one to his own Instagram account. Kat was sure the picture would lead to an explosion of their popularity at school and she was immensely glad neither of them were yet allowed to be on social media as she didn’t want to think about all the comments they would get if they had been.

They’d had a good flight together back to London and fun going out with his friends, and he’d even taken her on a sightseeing trip around the city, knowing how much she wanted to see a lot of the typical tourist locations. She was sure he was only doing it because he felt guilty about how he’d acted, but whatever, she still appreciated it.

The morning after the concert, they were lounging together in their comfy clothes on the couch, Niall flipping around through the channels while Kat mostly zoned out, the pair sitting in companionable silence, broken by a comment here and there.

Niall cleared his throat. “So … ,” he began, somewhat ominously, “me da and Aofie are gonna be in town for the party and asked to stay with us. I … I couldn’t think of any reason to tell him no.”

“Sure, that’s fine. That’ll be fun to have them here for a couple of days,” Kat said, not looking up from the magazine she was flipping through. “Are your mom and Chris coming too?”

“Yeah and me nan as well, but they’re staying in a hotel.”

“Cool.” Kat had met Niall’s grandma, Maura’s mother, when they went to Ireland in July so there was no stress involved; she’d truthfully be glad to see them all again. She felt pretty confident now around his family, no big deal.

“Uh, Kat?” Niall asked, his voice tentative.

“Hm?” Kat looked up from her magazine to find Niall staring at her, his knee bouncing a mile a minute. She suddenly got worried.

“If me da is here, you’re gonna have to stay in me room and move all your stuff over so it doesn’t look like you’ve been livin’ in the spare room. I don’t think they’d believe that after all the time we’ve been datin’ that we wouldn’t be sleepin’ in the same room. Unless ya wanna tell them you’re a big snorer? That might work.”

“Why can’t you be the snorer?” Kat asked, her mind racing at the thought that they’d have to share a bed again, particularly after what had happened last time they did. But Niall was clearly nervous about it, so she didn’t want to make a big stink.

“Me da knows I don’t snore,” Niall said, the duh silent but Kat heard it just the same.

“Right.” Kat looked down at her magazine again, flipping through it blindly. “Well, no big deal, we can make that work. Your bed is enormous, won’t even know you’re there,” she said, deliberately keeping her tone casual.

Even though she wasn’t looking directly at him, Kat could see the tension leave Niall’s body and his knee slowed down significantly. “Good point.”

Still not glancing up, Kat said, “We’ll just put a pillow between us so you don’t injure me with your boner again.”

Although she was bracing for some sort of reaction, Niall’s shove on her shoulder still tipped her over completely, her face bouncing off the couch cushion.

She couldn’t even be upset. She knew she’d deserved it.

*

Niall’s birthday party, not surprisingly, was a massive event at Shoreditch House, a private members-only ( _Toto, we’re not in Nebraska anymore_ ) club. There were paparazzi all over outside and, for once, Kat was fairly certain that they weren’t even set up by management. There were all sorts of legit celebrities that were going to be there, although a lot of them were U.K. famous rather than world famous so she didn’t recognize a lot of the names.

There were plenty of people she did know, though. She greeted Willie and Basil, who was actually there in a personal rather than a professional capacity, so he promised to have a drink and a dance with her later in the night. Kat hadn’t seen Basil since they’d been back so it’d been a over a month since they’d last spent time together.

Niall’s mom Maura, her husband Chris, and Niall’s grandmother came at the very start of the party. As Kat was pretty sure they would be among the first to leave, she talked with them early on as much she could, knowing that their time together would be limited. Bobby and Aofie were also early arrivals, coming directly to the party when they got into town rather than dropping off their stuff first at Niall’s place, and looked to be having a great time -- Bobby known and loved by all of Niall’s friends, Kat wasn’t surprised to see.

Kat had successfully moved herself into Niall’s bed and bathroom, although she’d left her clothes in the spare, as, if asked, they could quite truthfully say that there wasn’t room in Niall’s closet for her things. She’d just grabbed something to sleep in so she wouldn’t even have to go on that side of the house when they got home.

Eoghan, Laura, Greg, and Natalia arrived together, followed shortly after by more of the LIC. Louis and Eleanor came too, Eleanor giving Kat a nice cheek kiss and hug, playing nice in public as always. El had been fine in general to Kat after their little spat, not that they’d been particularly close before, but she wasn’t any colder to her afterwards. Sophia had been a little awkward immediately after and Kat could tell she was embarrassed around her -- which she absolutely should have been -- but clearly trying to be friendly. Kat had given her the benefit of the doubt and went back to being fairly chummy to her. But Liam and Soph weren’t coming to the party, for whatever reason, only Louis was scheduled to attend. Kat didn’t think too much of it, knowing how much time they all spent together, plus they’d all be in one place on his actual birthday so they could celebrate then.

Kat was drinking and enjoying herself greatly, Niall off talking to some of his guests, when a face she recognized appeared above the crowd. 

“Bressie!” she yelled, like they were old friends. “I didn’t know you were going to be here!”

“Couldn’t miss this, now could I? How’re ya doin’ there, Kat?” he bent over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You know what? I’m fabulous right now. Having an amazing night!”

He laughed, looking her over. “Ya do seem to be in high spirits, good on ya. And how’s the birthday boy?”

“I think he’s having an even better time, if you can believe it.” The both turned when they heard Niall’s loud laughter ringing out through the club, even though she couldn’t even see him. “See? Good ole Niall, proving my point.”

“He’s a good lad,” Bressie said as though he was trying to convince her of that fact. 

“He is,” Kat agreed. She squinted up at him, suspicious of the way he was looking at her. “Are you fishing for dirt? Did he tell you about how we weren’t getting along?”

“He may have mentioned something about you bein’ mad at him a while back, but, him bein’ Niall and a bit clueless about these types of things, he hadn’t the first clue as to what he’d done wrong. But seems as though you’ve worked it out?”

“Yep, we have. All’s well, we’re back to being very much in love again, don’t you worry.”

“Glad to hear it. The two of ya are one of me favorite couples, hate to see ya on the outs.”

“Ha ha. We’re a real testament to true love. Speaking of couples, where’s your better half? I was hoping to meet her at some point.”

“Had a work thing. She doesn’t typically come to these types of things with me, anyway.”

“Not a fan of the LIC?” Kat asked, genuinely curious.

“It’s not that, just think she likes to let me have fun with me mates without havin’ the girlfriend around to take care of.” 

“She sounds like a keeper. Speaking of girlfriend-types, is Niall committing some serious breach of club standards by taking me to all these LIC things? I’ve noticed that no one really brings a significant other with and you’re all way too good looking for no one to be dating anyone.” 

He laughed. “If it’s serious, people bring their partner with but more often than not, it’s just the regulars. Likely because we’re insufferable twats and none of ‘em can stand us as a group.”

“Not true at all, I found you all very welcoming. And God knows you have every right to be suspicious of me, given that I’m sure you’ve seen all sorts of sketchy sorts being all over Niall because of who he is. Although I guess a lot of you are famous yourselves so you’re used to it happening to you.” 

“None of us are anythin’ like Niall though, he attracts a whole new level of, uh, interest.”

“Don’t I know it. And have the Instagram comments to prove it. They all hate me,” she said cheerfully. Because she was well on her way to drunk and an idiot (plus she figured that Niall had already said something to him), she continued, “Hey, this is kinda random, but I’m sorry if I made you at all uncomfortable when we were at your place. I, uh, didn’t realize you were dating anybody and I feel like I went kinda overboard flirting with you. Awkward. So … yeah, sorry about that.”

Bressie looked surprised. “I hadn’t even realized ya were flirtin’ with me, so I think that means ya were just fine.”

Kat closed her eyes. Of course. “Oh Jesus. And Niall didn’t say anything to you about it?”

“Not a word.”

“Well, let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything either. Let’s get you a drink, sound good?” Kat said, as she tried not to die of embarrassment. 

“Sounds great.”

Around drink five or so, Kat realized how very drunk she was, which she would have realized much sooner had she not been having so much fun chatting with Bressie, Eoghan, and the other hilarious members of the LIC. Her stomach hurt from laughing, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Of course, this could have been assisted by the sheer volume of booze she’d consumed, but whatever the reason, Kat was having a marvelous time. The older guests, including Niall’s parents and grandmother, had long since left and the party was really kicking into high gear.

Inhibitions severely relaxed, Kat stumbled herself over to the DJ booth and made a request, laughing to herself about how great her idea was and how hilarious it would all be. 

So when Katy Perry’s “Birthday” started playing, she ran over to Niall, forced him to sit in a chair on the edge of the dance floor, to hoots of laughter and catcalls from his friends that were in the area. He was shaking his head at her all the while, clearly just indulging her. Lip syncing the words (which Kat hadn’t honestly realized she knew all of), she proceeded to give him a cartoonish version of a sexy dance -- like a strip tease but without removing any clothes -- biting her finger and dancing in front of him mock seductively, which made him throw his head back in laughter. A crowd began to gather, with the party guests laughing and shouting encouragement to her as they danced along to the music nearby. 

Feeling pumped that her plan was being so well received, Kat continued to lay it on thick, dancing around him, shimmying her body alongside his while continuing to mouth the lyrics to him. Seeing the scarf wrapped around a girl’s neck on the side of the dance floor, Kat quickly darted over and asked if she could borrow it and once the girl agreed, Kat looped it around Niall’s neck, pulling it back and forth as she shook her (admittedly not substantial) chest in front of his face. 

Leaving the scarf there, she continued to move around him acting out the lyrics. Kat was a confident dancer, it was something she knew she was pretty good at and enjoyed doing and she particularly loved to goof around with it, so she didn’t mind at all for once being the center of attention.

When the music slowed down somewhat, Kat went in for her big finish. Laughing, she sat on his lap, her back pressed to his front, wrapping her arm back around his neck, and rolled her body along with the music:

_So let me get you in your birthday suit_  
_It's time to bring out the big balloons_  
_So let me get you in your birthday suit_  
_It's time to bring out the big, big, big, big, big, big balloons_

She meant it to be silly. Well, mostly silly and just a little sexy. 

But the thing was, no matter how jokingly she was doing it, she was rubbing her ass on his dick. And Niall was only human and friction was friction. She felt his fingers digging into her waist just before she felt his response under her bottom. Eyes wide, she turned her head to his and meeting his somewhat hooded gaze, she knew it was past time to wrap this thing up. 

Placing a quick kiss on the tip of his nose, she stood up and turned around, leaning over him as she pulled the scarf from around his neck. She whispered a quick “sorry” in his ear, then dropped the balled up scarf into his lap to provide him a little coverage in case his excitement was at all obvious. 

Although it didn’t appear from a brief glance around that anyone had detected anything amiss, Kat wanted to shift the atmosphere, so she began running around and pulling the other people watching her impromptu show onto the dance floor with them. Several of them -- mostly his guy friends, but Laura and Natalia as well -- gave Niall their own brief dances (although thankfully for everyone involved none of them actually sat on his lap) and soon they were all dancing and singing along, surrounding the birthday boy where he sat in his birthday throne. 

As she danced with the other guests, Kat kept close to Niall and sang the final “happy birthday” into his ear as the song concluded, before plopping onto his knees with a laugh amidst loud applause. He pulled her in for a long and dirty kiss that had the room whistling and hooting long before they broke apart to gasp for air. 

Foreheads pressed together, Kat whispered, “Happy birthday, Niall. I’m, um, sorry about that whole grinding bit.”

Grabbing her bottom with both hands, to her squealing laughter, he kissed her quickly again and said, “I’m not,” with a wink. “Good game, kid.”

She jumped up and pulled him after her, bringing him in close to her and dancing to the next song. 

After a minute, she pulled back from him, a worried look on her face. “You didn't ever sleep with Katy, did you? It suddenly just occurred to me that you might have and everyone here knows it but me. And I just looked like an enormous idiot for doing that.”

He laughed. “No, I haven’t, don't worry. Although I'd like to think that if I had, not everyone would know.”

“God, topping the list of questions I never thought I'd be asking someone I'm dating -- ‘hey, did you happen to sleep with Katy Perry? No big deal if you did, I just need to know before I give you a lap dance in public to one of her songs.’”

“Not exactly public and that wasn't exactly a lap dance, 'cept that one part. Which was my personal favorite bit.”

She blushed, feeling marginally more sober. 

A few songs later, she pulled Louis out on the dance floor with her, after noticing that he looked miserable where he was standing next to Eleanor. Not that she blamed him. She’d be miserable too if she had to spend any extended period of time with that woman.

“Nice show ya put on there,” Louis said into her ear once they were dancing.

“Shut up. It was just supposed to be a joke until…” she trailed off.

“Until it wasn't?” he finished for her. 

“Yeah.”

“Careful there, love,” he cautioned kindly.

“I appreciate you looking out for me but I really think I'm okay now. It's all out in the open now, the fact that I did -- yes, _did_ , past tense, Lou -- have a crush on him. We're cool now.” Kat had talked to Louis about the aftermath of her yelling at Niall the next day before their concert, wanting to keep him updated as to their situation since she knew he was concerned about her.

“That kiss didn't look past tense.”

“Well, we have to kiss, we're dating according to a lot of the people here.”

“Maybe ya have to kiss here and there but ya don't have to kiss like that. And you certainly don't have to give him a lap dance, unless your contract is vastly different from Eleanor's. Thank God.” He mock shuddered at the thought.

“It was just a joke.”

“Ya mentioned that.”

“Oh, shut up.” To counter her rude words, she gave him a somewhat sloppy kiss on the cheek, followed by a nose-to-nose rub. She knew he was only looking out for her and she loved him for that. 

With that in mind, she said, “I'll try to be careful, Dad, thanks for taking care of me.”

“You do that, love. And havin’ met your da, I’ll take that as a compliment. He’s a nice gent.”

Louis and Eleanor left shortly after their dance concluded but Kat stayed out on the dance floor, moving from partner to partner happily. She danced with Niall a couple of more times, as well as Bressie and Basil. Before she knew it, everyone was heading out and Niall was informing her that their car was there, ready to take them home.

Home to their shared bed.

Gulp.

*

“Shh,” Kat whisper-yelled at Niall, as being quiet when she was drunk had never been her strong suit, “Don’t want to wake up your da.” They’d just gotten home and Niall was resetting the alarm system, the beeps sounding loud in the silence of the house.

“I am bein’ quiet, Katherine, you’re the one throwing your shoes and trippin’ over everything. Wait, did you say da?”

Kat giggled. “I think I did. You’re clearly rubbing off on me.” Niall’s eyebrows shot up and he opened his mouth, Kat quickly pushing her hand over it, stumbling into him as she did so. “Not a word, buster. No rubbing jokes at all, ya perv.”

Niall pulled her hand off his face, looping it instead through his arm as he led them into the kitchen. They both had big glasses of water and some chips, trying their best to keep the noise level down but no doubt failing pretty miserably.

Once in Niall’s room, Kat ducked into the bathroom to change into her sleep tank and shorts while Niall got ready for bed in his room. She cracked open the door, hands over her eyes, after she’d gotten dressed. “You decent?”

“Yep, you can look.” Kat opened her eyes to find Niall sitting on what must have been his side of the bed, in an old t-shirt and shorts, flipping through his phone. Kat hovered somewhat awkwardly, not sure quite what the etiquette was in this situation, if she needed to wait for him to get into bed first or if was okay for her to just dive under the covers without an invitation.

“Ya comin’ to bed or what?” Niall asked, just the invite she was looking for.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there,” Kat replied, walking around the bed. “Good birthday? Or good birthday party, I guess, as your actual b-day isn’t for awhile still.”

“Yeah, it was a great time.”

Kat giggled as they slid into bed together, each from opposite sides of the bed, the sheets rustling as they both got comfortable. “This totally reminds me of that night at my parent’s.”

“I still don’t wanna talk about that,” Niall grumbled, turning off the bedside lamp. 

“Oh c’mon, that was ages ago! And it was funny!”

“Kat, it was a month ago. And funny for you, maybe, mortifyin’ for me.”

They both laid on their sides, facing each other. Kat bunched up her pillow under her cheek, leaving her hand underneath for additional support. His face was illuminated softly by the electronic light given off by his alarm clock and he looked drunk, sleepy, and content, altogether a good look on him. Kat bit her lip, weighing her words before she spoke. “Well, I’ve never told you this but if it makes you feel any better, that night, when I woke up around 3 or so, I was totally lying half on top of you and my hand was under your shirt! So asleep me totally felt you up, which is quite embarrassing as well.”

“That didn’t happen,” he scoffed.

“It did! I swear it. I was like …” Kat scooched over to Niall and lightly pushed his shoulder until he flopped back. Once he was entirely reclined, she curled up around him, slinging her leg over and between his and sliding her hand up his sleep shirt. “It was just like this and I …” she trailed off as she looked up at him, noticing even in the dim light of the room that his eyes were moving between the bump under his shirt where her hand was and her practically bare leg lying on his crotch.

It was silent for a moment in the room, both of them holding their positions without moving, barely even breathing. Kat closed her eyes in an effort to hide from the tension. Finally, one of Niall’s hands began moving, stroking over her back slowly.

Kat wasn’t sure what Niall’s intentions were, if he meant it to be relaxing or seductive, but her body responded as though it were the latter. She tried to keep her breathing even as his hand moved back and forth, his palm warm even through the worn cotton of her t-shirt. 

Shortly after she’d gotten used to the sensation of his gentle back rub, his other hand slid over her knee, up her leg until he gripped her thigh just below where her sleep shorts stopped, his fingers lightly kneading her skin. 

And that, that felt decidedly _not_ friendly. Like, not platonic at all. 

Kat’s own hand, still tucked under his shirt, curled into his pectoral muscle of its own volition as she subtly arched her body into him. Which was enough, apparently, to give Niall the green light. 

In one smooth motion, he rolled her onto her back, his body following close behind, settling himself between her legs. Tucking his face into her neck, he rolled his hips into hers, making Kat gasp. His half hard cock notched perfectly into her, pretty much instantly turning her on. 

Kat gripped tightly onto him, one hand grabbing a fistful of his shirt, the other digging into the skin on his back, as she pushed up into him, heels planted firmly into the mattress. The room quickly became filled with the sounds of their mutual harsh breathing and moans as they continued to work themselves against each other, Niall panting hotly into her shoulder. 

Kat tried to adjust herself so she could see Niall’s face, raising her shoulder up towards her ear in an attempt to push him out of his hiding spot. She just wanted to see his expression to get some sort of clue as to where his head was, what he was thinking. If he was even thinking at all. And maybe kiss him, as it felt very strange to be basically dry humping someone without even making out. 

But Niall kept his face turned away, no matter what she did to get him to pull back. When her attempt at seeing his face that way failed, she borrowed his earlier move and rolled them over so she was on top. 

And Niall immediately rolled them back again, grinding into her with more purpose, his erection pressing firmly between her legs. Kat let out a half exasperated laugh, half moan at his actions. She decided to just go with it, whatever “it” was, exactly, as she wrapped her arms around his back again and tucked her own face into his shoulder, lightly biting into the muscles there through his shirt as she became more and more aroused. Niall turned his own head into her neck, nuzzling at her collarbone before sucking and biting at the tender skin just above it.

Kat noticed that his movements became more deliberate as he chased closer to his own orgasm, no longer running his hands over her torso or through her hair as he had been, instead planting one palm on each side of her. He finally pulled away enough for Kat to see his face, which was tipped back in concentration, eyes closed, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth. 

Looking fucking sexy beyond belief. 

Watching him closely, Kat could see the moment he came with a shuddering groan, before he collapsed onto her again, rolling them both slightly onto their sides so his weight didn’t crush her.

Kat intended to ask him just what exactly that had been once he’d caught his breath, but the combination of the late hour and alcohol left her too tired to hold onto consciousness. Her last feeling before succumbing to sleep was Niall pressing a soft kiss onto her shoulder, the only non-public kiss he’d given her that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> [Story Rec Post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late but it's a long one! 
> 
> And wowzas, hope you're enjoying "Slow Hands" as much as I am! Seriously sexy work by Mr. Horan. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the continued comments and kudos!

Warm sunlight, a headache, and a lingering feeling of unease had Kat waking up fairly early the next day. She blinked open her eyes slowly, her hungover brain trying to figure out exactly where she was. When she remembered, she s-l-o-w-l-y glanced over and found Niall sleeping soundly beside her, on his stomach with his head turned towards her, his eyelashes fanned out on his cheeks. He had his hand outstretched in her direction but thankfully wasn’t actually touching her, which made her escape from his bed all that much easier.

Once Kat slid quietly off the mattress, she realized she didn’t really know where to go. Bobby and Aoife could be up and about in the main areas of the house so she couldn’t go there yet, not before getting her head around everything that happened the night before. And she should probably talk to Niall as well.

But not quite yet. She needed to get her own thoughts together first, and there was no better place to do that, in Kat’s opinion, than the shower. She’d cleared all her stuff out of her bathroom previously in preparation for pretending to look as though she shared Niall’s room, so she had all her getting ready stuff in there, albeit jumbled all together in an old shopping bag. She hadn’t grabbed a change of clothes though, so she’d have to wear what she had on, which was fine, mostly. She just wouldn’t wear underwear, as there was no way she was re-wearing underwear. She had standards.

Kat crept into the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her. She started up the shower to warm the water up, before finding Niall’s spare towels and grabbing one for herself. She didn’t feel up to rooting through her stuff to find her shampoo and face wash, so she decided to just use whatever Niall had, knowing him it would be pretty nice stuff anyway. 

She shucked her clothes and got under the warm spray, feeling much better almost instantly. Everything was going to be okay with Niall. This didn’t change anything, it was just a drunken accident, no big deal. They would talk about it, like mature adults, and move on. They were fine, everything was fine.

Kat’s positive attitude lasted until she got out of the shower. After she’d dried off, when she went to pull her sleep shorts back on, she noticed a questionable stain on the front that she refused to examine. With a sigh, she wadded them up along with the tank she’d slept in and shoved them into her bag of toiletries, to be dealt with later. Left with no other option, she crept into Niall’s closet, which thankfully for her opened off his bathroom, and found an oversized shirt and athletic shorts she could cinch up. She also grabbed a hoodie so she wouldn’t have to put on a bra, which she’d rather not do as she’d forgotten the one she’d worn the night before out in Niall’s bedroom. There, that was sorted. 

After she’d gotten dressed, she found herself dawdling over brushing her hair and putting on some facial moisturizer, subconsciously trying to drag things out so she wouldn’t have to go talk to Niall. She stopped as soon as she recognized what she was doing and, steeling herself, she opened the door into his bedroom. 

Niall was still asleep, although he’d rolled over onto his back, his shirt rucked up under his armpits, showing off his lovely stomach and chest. Kat let herself get an eyeful before she gathered up her clothes from last night, trying to make as much noise as possible to wake Niall up as unobtrusively as she could. He didn’t stir, though, until an unexpected sneezing fit hit Kat and his eyes finally cracked opened. 

“Gesundheit,” he said, his voice gravelly with sleep. He stretched and sat up, smiling over at Kat, much to her relief. 

“Thanks,” she replied, coming around to his side of the bed and perching at the end of it by his feet. She wanted to be sure to give him some space so he wouldn’t feel like she was attacking him or anything, especially as he wasn’t even fully awake yet. “How are you feeling?”

“Can’t tell quite yet, honestly. Okay, though, I think. Nice outfit.” 

Kat looked down at her clothes; she’d forgotten that she’d borrowed stuff from him without asking. “Cute, huh? Hope it’s okay, I forgot to grab a change of clothes out of my room yesterday when I brought my other stuff in.” Kat took a sudden and keen interest in the hem of the shorts she was wearing, staring at them extremely closely for a few moments as it gave her cover to pretend she hadn’t seen Niall absentmindedly scratch his crotch, then pull a face as he no doubt was met with the physical reminder of exactly what had happened the night before. Kat had never fallen asleep having ejaculated in her underwear, but she couldn’t imagine it would feel very good the next day once everything had dried up. She felt bad for him, she did, but the discomfort he might be feeling at that moment in his nether regions was the least of her concerns.

“So about last night …” she began, cringing at how ominous it sounded. 

“Yeah,” Niall said, not really helping her out. Not really making eye contact with her either.

“I’m not going to pretend I have a 100% accurate recollection of what happened, but I’m pretty sure I remember the gist.” She grimaced, suddenly glad Niall wasn’t even looking at her, as she wasn’t sure what exactly to say next. She’d thought it through in the bathroom but now, when she was actually in front of him, she was blanking. “And, uh, yeah, it’s not a big deal? I mean, we’re cool, right? It doesn’t have to change anything? We were just drunk, yeah?”

“Are you askin’ me or tellin’ me, can’t quite tell,” Niall said, finally looking at her, his mouth curved into a soft smile.

She swatted his leg. “You could help me out, fucker, instead of staring intently at the wall, if you think you’d have better conversation points on the subject.”

He shook his head forcefully, flinching after as it must have hurt his hungover brain. “I don’t, I really don’t.”

“Nope, you mocked me, now you’re up. Punishment for being a smart ass.” She folded her arms and looked over at him, happy to hand over the task of handling this awkward as fuck conversation over to him.

“If it was up t’ me, we wouldn’t be talkin’ about it at all, we’d both just pretend nothin’ happened. That still an option?” Niall asked hopefully.

Kat stared down at her lap, weakly shrugging at Niall’s question. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe Niall’s plan would have been the better way to do it. She’d been tempted but was trying to be an adult about what had happened, she really didn’t want things to be weird between her and Niall and thought it would ultimately be better to talk things through.

She heard the bed sheets rustle and then he was there, slinging an arm around her shoulder. “Fuck, Kat, I’m sorry. You were right to talk about it, get things out in the open. I just don’t know what to say, exactly. It was my fault, I was the one who initiated it and--”

Kat cut in, blurting out, “I was a willing participant so it’s not all on you.” She heard what she’d just said, as her mouth had worked faster than her brain, and closed her eyes, mortified. There had been no need, no need at all, for her to point out that she’d been completely into their dry humping session. “Sorry for interrupting, continue.”

Niall chuckled. “Thanks for not makin’ me take all the blame, ‘preciate it. But I’m still the one that made the first move and the one that, uh, benefitted the most from the whole thing.” As Kat glanced over at him, it was his turn to close his eyes in shame as he tipped his head back. “Jesus, that’s what I’m almost the most embarrassed about, I was such a selfish fuck, usin’ you to get me off, not givin’ a shit about whether or not you were enjoyin’ yourself at all. ‘M not usually like that, I swear.”

This was all feeling a bit surreal, Niall apparently being the most worried about her thinking he was only out for his own gratification in bed. 

Which, um, _interesting_. 

But Kat couldn’t think about that now. “I, uh, I believe you, I guess. Or I’ll just take your word for it. And … and I did. Um, enjoy myself, that is.” Her face felt like it was on fire, so she deflected with a joke. “Not as much as you, maybe, but … yeah.”

Niall gave a short bark of laughter. “So, yeah, if you’re okay then we’re cool.”

Kat bumped his shoulder with hers. “Moral of the story, we probably aren’t the kind of friends that can share a bed, huh?”

Niall laughed again. “Very true. Thanks for bein’ so great about this, Kat, would hate for me bein’ a drunken arse to ruin our friendship. ‘Specially after all the shit I’ve put ya through.”

He looked at her, face earnest and open. While she appreciated his sincerity, Kat couldn’t help herself, she broke down in laughter. “I’m sorry, I can’t take you very seriously when I know you’re dealing with serious dried jizz shorts right now. Are they going to have to be surgically removed at this point? Should I call the London 911-equivalent for medical assistance?”

Niall’s face flamed red for a minute, then he struck, pulling her onto her back on the bed and tickling her sides. As she flailed and struggled to get away, crying with laughter, Niall ended up on top of her, which only made her laugh harder.

“Niall, didn’t we -- argh -- just decide this -- oh my God, stop -- was a bad idea?” she wheezed out between laughing fits as he tickled on, undeterred. She tried to get him off her, bucking up her hips into his, her back arched off the bed, which resulted in him being nestled between her thighs, quite reminiscent of the night before. Kat felt some movement in his shorts where he was pressed up against her, which finally made him stop. He pulled one of his hands away from her ribcage and pressed it on his crotch, grimacing and rolling off her. 

Kat tried to catch her breath, then another giggle fit struck. “If your plan is to come again and hope that’ll make the situation in your underwear better, I gotta say, I think a shower would be the more obvious way to go.”

His hand still holding down his junk, Niall got up and stalked towards the bathroom as she watched from the bed, still reclined on her side with her head resting on her fist. He slammed the door behind him and Kat worried for a second that she’d really offended him.

Then the door jerked open again and an arm launched something towards her. She barely got out of the way in time to avoid getting hit with what had to be his dirty underwear. 

“Oh my God, Niall, you did not just do that!”

His loud laughter echoed out of the bathroom.

*

“Good mornin’!” Niall called out to his dad and Aoife after he’d taken his shower. Kat trailed behind him, feeling kind of awkward about just how obvious is was that they’d slept together the night before. She probably would have felt awkward even if they hadn’t done anything but given that they had, it was 10 times worse. Clearly they were adults and it was fine but Kat hadn’t ever lived with a significant other so this was uncharted territory for her.

Niall’s dad and his girlfriend were in the kitchen, making themselves at home as Niall had instructed them to do. Bobby was stirring something on the stove, the smell of which made Kat’s stomach rumble, and not in a good way. After saying her own quiet “morning” to them both, she darted over to the fridge and grabbed out a Coke, knowing it would help settle her tum. She was all too experienced with hangovers and knew best how to handle them. The shower had done wonders for her head and overall state of well-being, but now she had to tackle her digestive issues.

When Bobby and Niall began talking, Aoife deliberately caught Kat’s eye and, with her index finger, rubbed a spot on her own neck near her collarbone, then nodded at Kat, looking pointedly at Kat’s throat. 

Fuck. Kat suddenly remembered Niall sucking and biting at her neck last night and flushed at the memory. She tugged up the fabric of Niall’s hoodie but couldn’t see if it was covering it well enough. She needed a mirror, so she jerked her head towards Niall’s bedroom. “I’m … going to run the restroom quick, be right back,” she said, for Niall and Bobby’s benefit, not that they seemed to be listening. As she walked past Aoife, Kat mouthed a silent “thank you” towards her, thankful that she’d pointed it out so she could hide the evidence before Niall’s dad saw it.

The morning just seemed to be one land mine after another. 

Kat didn’t have the energy for this shit, honestly.

*

Although things were great again with Niall, Kat still spent time after the concerts with the other members of One Direction when the tour resumed in California. Presumably, Niall still had evening visitors regularly, so Kat didn’t want to tie up his nights. Plus, she really thought of all of the guys as friends and loved spending time with them.

After the second Rose Bowl show, she asked Zayn if he wanted to hang out, as Liam was busy with some finishing touches on the album. Harry and Louis were both not feeling the best and she had no idea what Niall was up to.

And she mostly didn’t want to know.

So it was just Zayn and Kat.

But when she got to Zayn’s room, neither of them had any clue what they wanted to do. Kat wasn’t interested in video games, really, and they couldn’t find a movie that sounded good. So they just sprawled out on the bed and flipped aimlessly through the channels, snacking on some popcorn when they did so.

They watched an episode of “Flight of the Conchords” they caught on HBO, but after that, resumed their channel surfing.

Kat rolled over onto her back, not even pretending to be interested in the television. “I’m such a turd, I could happily do nothing forever and be content. This is a seriously perfect night in my book.”

“Whatcha mean? Pretty sure I see ya working out all the damn time, runnin’ with Harry or somethin’ like that,” Zayn said around a mouthful of popcorn.

“Uh, yeah. But that’s not because I want to or anything.” Feeling like she’d said too much, Kat scrambled to clarify her statement, “I mean, I do like to run, always have, but mostly I just do it so I can fit in all the nice clothes your management bought me and be able to eat and drink as much as I want. It’s not super fun or anything.”

“Ya do it a lot for somethin’ ya don’t enjoy.”

“The high price you pay for being a girl, I guess. Or not being naturally slim and gorgeous like yourself.” She pinched at Zayn’s waist lightly as he squirmed away.

Once she quit trying to get him, he rolled onto his side, facing her. “You’ve lost some weight though, haven’t ya? They all do that.”

“Who’s they?” Kat said to the ceiling, neatly avoiding the question about her weight.

“All ya stunt girls. You all start perfectly skinny ‘n everythin’ but you get thinner ‘n thinner the more time goes on. Not sure if it’s the stress, or the paps, or somethin’ else. Never really asked either, I ‘spose.”

Kat kept silent, not willing to offer up anything if he wasn’t going to ask directly.

“That was me askin’ ya, now, Kat. In case ya missed it.” Zayn said, and she could see from the corner of her eyes that he was looking at her steadily.

Brain frantically scrambling for a way to answer him without exactly lying, Kat replied slowly, “Well, I can’t speak for anyone but myself but --” 

Just then, Liam burst into the room, laughing and yelling back at someone in the hall, “Next time, right? I’m holdin’ ya to that, mate!”

Kat had personally never benefitted so greatly from an interruption and she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth and squander this opportunity to get away from a question she had no intention of answering, at least not honestly. She quickly scrambled to her feet and headed for the door, kissing Liam on the cheek, while saying to Zayn, “It was fun, but I’d better go. Big day tomorrow, being Niall’s birthday and all! Hi and bye, Li!”

Zayn, because he was an absolute fucker, called after her. “You were saved by the Liam, Kat, but I never forget anything, alright? So we’ll talk later.”

Kat figured she could avoid Zayn for the next six to seven months, no problem.

*

Niall’s actual birthday fell on the third and final night of the shows at the Rose Bowl in what was essentially LA, which seemed like a pretty great place to have a 21st birthday to Kat. She’d made him a cross stitch as promised (two actually, one of the five boys and an Anchorman one as well, as he was constantly quoting the movie) but also had been secretly working on another gift for him, checking with management and his security team to make sure it was okay.

Now the only thing left was to give it to Niall to see if he liked it. 

Kat help up the gift. “Something to go with your hat and the shirt my parents got you.”

“Did ya get me Husker socks? That’s about the only thing I don’t have now.”

“Not quite.” She handed him the final small box.

He shook it, making a face when he couldn’t tell what it was. He pulled off the paper and opened the lid, pulling out the printed pieces of thick paper lying inside. “Husker tickets? To what exactly?”

Kat looked at him anxiously. “To a football game, like American football, in November. You’ll already be in the U.S., for some promotional stuff and the AMAs are the next day. So you’ll -- or we’ll, if they have me with you then, not sure yet -- just have to fly in and out but I cleared it through your management and the tour people. And Al is coming with. He’s kind of excited about it, I think. Or he said he was, at least.”

“Kat, this is awesome. I’m so pumped, never been to a college football game! This’ll be great, thanks!” He pulled her into a hug.

“I’m glad you like it, bud. Happy real birthday,” Kat said into his shoulder. She stepped back. “So are we really not celebrating tonight after the show? It seems wrong.”

“Nope, would rather save it for Vegas tomorrow night. But you and I could hang out, if ya like?”

“I’d love it. I have one little thing we have to do though, okay?”

“Sure, sounds cool.”

So after the show, once Niall was all showered up and they were headed back to the hotel, Kat had their driver stop at a deserted looking gas station and she pulled a confused looking Niall after her into the shop. 

“What do ya need, Kat, that we can’t just get back at the hotel? And why do I have to come?”

“Because you’re going to buy some alcohol. Which you can now do, legally.”

Niall rolled his eyes, but grabbed a six pack of Stella Artois from the refrigerated case and brought it up to the front counter, where a bored looking 20 something year old employee was restocking the cigarettes. “Just a sec,” he said, without turning around.

“That’s fine,” Niall said, placing the beer by the register and looking over at Kat, his patience clearly running a bit thin.

The employee finished up and turned around finally, his eyes widening comically when he saw Niall standing in front of him. “No way, you’re in that one band, right? Like that British boy band, um … ?”

Kat helped him out. “One Direction. And it’s British _and_ Irish. This is Niall Horan.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. So cool to see you. No one’s gonna believe this,” the guy said, bouncing a bit on his toes. “Once one of my coworkers said that Sean Penn came in but we’re all pretty sure he was lying.”

“We can take a picture if you’d like. But first, can we pay?” Kat said, figuring Niall would be less annoyed the less he had to actually speak.

“Oh, right, sure.” He scanned the beer and said, “that’ll be $11.67.”

Niall pulled out his wallet, looking at Kat. Kat in turn looked up at the employee, her eyes pleading for him to say something more.

When nothing came, she prodded him, “Aren’t you going to ask for his ID?”

"Nah, it’s cool.” The guy waved a hand, dismissing the thought.

“No, you need to ask for his ID,” she insisted.

He looked at her like she was crazy, but clearly decided it was easier to just do it than argue with her. “Oookay. Can I, uh, see your ID, man?”

Niall sighed, and looked over at her, but complied. “Sure, here ya go.”

“He just turned 21 today. Thought it was a rite of passage that he buy alcohol legally,” Kat explained.

“Sure you get served everywhere, right though?” the employee asked Niall.

“Pretty much."

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Kat said.

“I guess.” The gas station employee was on Niall side, she could see. Whatever.

Kat snapped a quick pic of the two together on the worker’s phone, and then they were off, sitting comfortably by each other in the back seat of the hired SUV.

“Maybe it doesn’t mean as much since you can legally drink so much earlier. Sorry if it was a dumb idea. When I turned 18, I went and bought cigarettes right away, even though I didn’t smoke. It was just because I _could_ buy them then that made it exciting, ya know?”

Niall threw his arm around her shoulder, tugging her towards him. “It was great, petal, thanks for markin’ the day for me. Can’t believe I’m actually legal here now. Big day.”

“Legal to drink, you mean,” she clarified without thinking.

“Huh?"

“Uh, legal to drink. You’ve been legal since you were 18, in most states anyway.” At his look, she said, “Um, you know, like, age of consent?”

“What’s that mean?” Niall asked, looking at her quizzically.

“Er, it’s like … like when people, well not like people as in the general public or anything, but like someone that’s over 18 themselves that you actually want to … like, um, sleep with or whatever? Anyway, a person has to be 18 to be able to legally consent, or, uh agree, to having sex with someone also over the age of 18. There’s, like, an exception in a lot of states if the people are close in age and if they’re both underage that’s a whole different story but, um, yeah, basically that’s it.” Kat didn’t really look at Niall as she spoke, feeling like an utter ass.

So she missed him slowly getting more and more red in the face as he struggled to hold in his laughter. Until it finally erupted, and Kat knew she’d been had.

“You knew what that meant the whole time, you bastard. You’re the worst. I don’t care if it’s your birthday, I still hate you.” She elbowed him in the stomach, which only made him laugh more.

“That was a pretty nice definition, though, Kat. Very impressive. We’ll have a beer when we get back and you can tell me more about the intricacies of sex laws in your country. I’m fascinated.”

“I should have realized that of course you’d be well acquainted with all the rules involving who can have sex with who, you tramp.”

Like usual, Niall’s chuckles were contagious and Kat eventually gave in and laughed with him.

“The two of us are gonna have a great time in Vegas tomorrow, I know it,” he finally said, when they’d both calmed down. They were slumped together, his arm still warm around her shoulders.

She leaned her head on him. “Happy birthday, Ni.”

“Thanks,” he replied, resting his head on hers. “It's been a good one. And it’s only gonna get better.”

*

Niall’s prediction proved correct. Liam, Zayn, Gemma and one of her friends from home, Lou Teasdale, Paul, Niall, and Kat, plus Sandy and Jon with the musical band and a few other guys involved with One Direction in various capacities, were up fairly early and in the air for the short flight to Vegas. Kat had been to Las Vegas once before, with some friends the summer between her junior and senior years of college, but arriving in a private jet with celebrities felt quite a bit different.

Kat was delighted to discover that Eoghan was meeting them there; he was already at the hotel when they arrived. Most of them (Liam and Zayn stayed back) got quickly changed and headed straight for the pool. By that point, they’d already had several drinks on the plane, so Kat was relaxed and refused to stress about being in a swimsuit in front of all of them. She knew there would be all shapes and sizes at the hotel pool and Kat could see the results of her hard work when she looked at herself in her modest bikini in the mirror in her room when she’d gotten changed. 

They spent the day at the pool, drinking and swimming. There was a whole crew of famous peeps including the lead singer for one of her favorite bands, Kodaline, and former member of JLS, Marvin Humes, who Kat had met at Niall’s first birthday party. Despite the lofty company, it was pretty standard pool party behavior and conversation and Kat had a ton of fun, aided by the warm sun and the free flowing liquor. Once they were all sufficiently tanned/burnt and boozed up, they headed back to their rooms for a nap before the planned evening festivities. 

What followed was easily the wildest night Kat had ever experienced. Marvin was DJing at the club they went to, before David Guetta took over, and the whole night was a blur. Zayn came out with them, Liam instead hanging in their room with some of his friends from home that had come to belatedly celebrate his birthday. They’d gotten a room with a pool in it, so Kat figured she wouldn’t see them much at all over the next couple days. 

The club crew didn't stumble back to their rooms until 5 in the morning.

Not surprisingly, they slept the majority of the day away before heading out again, to the same club. Zayn and Niall helped DJ for part of the night, first with Marvin again and later with the headliner, Duplo. Joe Jonas was there, making Kat’s inner 12 year old self squee. It was all completely surreal in a classically Vegas way.

Later in the evening/early morning (Kat wasn't precisely sure which, not because she was drunk but she hadn't worn a watch), Kat and Gemma were dancing their hearts out, not quite sure where the rest of the gang was but not too concerned about it. Kat was certain she could ask just about anyone in the place where Niall Horan was and get an immediate response.

Gemma stepped in close to Kat, shouting in her ear to be heard, “I’m goin’ to the loo then grab a water, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, thanks! Grab me one too?”

As Gemma pushed herself through the crowd on the dance floor to make her way to the restrooms, Kat continued to dance, in her own world. It felt good to blend in, to be part of the crowd for once, just like she was used to before she agreed to this whole mess. She looked to the girls Gemma and she’d been dancing with and they all let out a cheer as Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” came on. 

“This is my song!” Kat yelled at them, getting even more into the music than she had before. “It doesn’t even make sense -- how can someone die alive? -- but I love it!” The girls didn’t seem to understand what she meant, but Kat was used to being the only person that actually listened to the lyrics of songs so she shrugged it off. 

Suddenly, she felt strong hands grasp her hips, sliding a bit under her shirt and lightly digging into her bare skin. 

Kat felt a spurt of excitement course through her, delighted that Niall had decided to join her on the dance floor. They hadn’t danced like this since St. Louis when she’d been so angry with him that she didn’t even enjoy it, and she hadn’t expected him to dance with her tonight. He pulled her back until her ass was firmly pressed against his groin and she could feel his hot breath on her neck, tickling her nape. He nipped at her skin, sliding his forearm around her midsection so they were locked together. 

Despite her ongoing reluctant attraction to him, Kat immediately felt uncomfortable -- Niall was really grabbing her, which he’d never done when they were out in public (and barely had in private either, at least not when he had his senses about him), nor had they ever gone ‘off script’ like this -- everything they had ever done physically had been discussed in advance, either between the two of them or Marnie had told them what they were expected to do.

Kat twisted in his arms as much as she could under his tight grip and quickly realized that it wasn’t Niall at all, but a tall, dark haired man that she’d seen dancing near them earlier. While the guy was undeniably hot, Kat didn’t appreciate at all his lack of asking for any sort of consent before he was all grinding up in her business. She became even more unimpressed when she realized he wasn’t releasing her, no matter how hard she wiggled. 

And then he started kissing her neck. Enough was enough.

“Hey, let go!” Kat struggled against him, her back pressed tightly to his front despite her efforts. 

“It’s okay, baby, I got you.” He slid his other hand up her side, coming perilously close to her breasts. 

“Yes, you do, but I don’t want you to. Seriously, I’m not interested. I have a boyfriend and even if I didn’t, I don’t want to dance with you.” Besides desperately wanting to get away from this horrible pig-man for her own well-being, Kat was worried that people would see and think she was cheating on Niall, right under his nose. She looked around, trying not to panic when she realized that while they'd been dancing, before she’d figured out he wasn’t Niall, he’d steered her away from the group she’d been dancing with and into a darker, less populated section of the dance floor. Fuck.

“Just dance with me, one song.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time to let me go.” Kat tried to stay calm but she was freaking out.

“Or what?” he asked, sliding his hands down again so he was gripping her hips painfully tight.

“Or I’m going to make you.”

“Is that right? God, you’re turning me on, baby, I like a bitch with some fight in her.” To emphasize his point, he ground his hard-on into her backside. 

After taking a deep breath to gather herself, Kat stomped on his foot hard with her heel, then shoved her elbow back into his gut. He released her, cursing, and she turned to dart off the dance floor. 

Her freedom was short lived, however, as she slammed into the wall of another man’s chest before she got more than a few steps away. 

She immediately tensed, ready to push off this new danger when she realized she recognized the voice belonging to the person she’d collided with. “Hey, it’s me, Kat, I’ve got ya,” Paul said into her ear, wrapping his arm around her carefully.

Kat leaned into his chest and closed her eyes, grateful he was there. When she reopened them, she saw Niall, right behind Paul. Niall stepped towards her, looking at her questioningly and waiting for her nod before pulling her under his arm and leading her out of the crowd. Before he did, he looked at Paul and tilted his head towards the guy that had grabbed Kat and Paul left to find him.

Not that Kat realized any of that was happening. She was too busy babbling to Niall, “God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t do anything to encourage him at all. I thought it was you at first and when I realized it wasn’t, I immediately told him to leave me alone, but he wouldn’t.”

“Kat, stop. The guy was a dick, it’s not your fault.”

Kat wasn’t reassured. “What if someone took a picture though? He was kissing my neck, I didn’t want him to but he was doing it anyway. It’s going to look so bad, like I was cheating on you!”

“If they did, we’ll deal with it. Ya didn’t do anythin’ wrong. I’m sorry that happened to ya, that guy had no right to touch ya like that,” Niall said, his voice soothing. “As soon as I saw what was going on, Paul and I took off towards ya. I’m sorry we didn’t get there quicker.”

“It’s fine, I was fine. I took self defense in college, just never needed to use it before. Good to know I remembered something from it.”

After a quick word to the others and once Paul had returned, Niall, Kat, and Paul left the club, Niall insisting they call it a night. Kat tried to protest, saying they were still celebrating Niall’s birthday but Niall wouldn’t hear of them staying.

Kat felt super strange when they got into the car to go home. “I feel jittery and something else, not sure what it is, but it feels weird. I feel weird. Weird weird weird.” 

She bounced in her seat next to Niall for a moment, then continued, “God, I’m not tired at all, do you want to watch a movie when we get back?” She didn’t pause to give him a chance to respond. “It’s cool if you’re not up for it, no big deal. Maybe I’ll go for a run. I don’t know. You think the gym will be open at the hotel? Probably, I think most of them are 24 hours. So all the important business people can work out whenever they want. Bet it’s not busy though, which will be good. Don’t really like to workout in front of people anyway.” She took a gasping breath, as apparently she’d forgotten to breath when she’d been talking.

Kat noticed Niall and Paul exchange a look before Niall responded, “We’re almost to the hotel, but I think it’s a bit late to go for a run. I’ll take ya back to your room.”

Kat continued to talk a mile a minute as they entered the hotel and took the elevator up to their floor. 

Kat gave Paul a big hug, thanking him again for helping her out. He wasn’t having it and told her, “You took care of that arsehole yourself, Kat, you didn’t need me. But I’m happy I could get you out of there.”

After watching her struggle with it for a minute, Niall took the key card from Kat and opened her door, holding it open so she could walk in. He spoke to Paul quietly in the hall for a moment, then followed her into her room.

Kat swung her arms around, trying to loosen them up. “God, my shoulders hurt, which is weird. I didn’t even use them, I don’t think, when I was getting that guy off me. My whole back hurts really. Arms too. Weird.”

“Sit down, I’ll give ya a back rub.”

Kat plopped onto the floor in front of Niall where he was perched on the edge of her bed, his knees spread. He started rubbing her shoulders and she tipped her head forward, trying to relax and enjoy the experience.

She couldn't, though, as apparently her back had turned into one large erogenous zone. Every touch of his hands seemed to send zings directly to her vagina. Which was nice and all but probably pretty inappropriate for a friendly back rub.

Kat scooched forward on her butt, out of his reach. “Yeah, you’re going to have to stop doing that.”

Niall immediately pulled his hands back. “‘M sorry, did I hurt ya?”

“Uh, no, just the opposite.” She bounced to her feet. “You know, I think I’m having some sort of weird reaction to the whole creepy dude incident. I need to Google this shit, adrenaline is clearly having a weird effect on me. Weird. God, I’ve said weird a lot, haven’t I?”

She flopped onto the bed on her back, eyes closed, glad Niall was no longer touching her, although she could still feel the warmth from his palms on her skin. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging hormones.

“Fuckin’ Christ, he marked ya up,” Niall gritted out. Kat’s eyes popped open to see Niall’s vision laser locked on her hips, where her top had ridden up slightly. While her first instinct was to yank her shirt down, she forced herself to look at her skin and see that Niall was right, there were fingerprint bruises forming on each of her hip bones where that jerk had grabbed onto her.

Now that she knew what he’d been looking at, Kat gave in to her initial impulse and pulled her shirt down, hiding the bruises from view. “It’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad? Not that bad? They shouldn’t be there at all, Kat. Fuck,” he said, shoving his hands through his hair. Visibly frustrated, he got up and began pacing the room. 

Kat sat up, tracking his movements with her eyes. “Uh, Niall? I’m okay, you know. I mean, it was a bit scary --” more than a bit but Kat thought that downplaying it was a good idea given how Niall was acting right then “-- but I handled it. I’m safe.”

“I shoulda done somethin’ more than just get him kicked out of that club, he’s probably just gonna keep thinkin’ he can do that to another girl. Shoulda called the cops, got his ass thrown in jail, he can’t just touch women like that, can’t touch anybody like that, it isn’t right.”

Kat stood up and stepped right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “Niall,” she said, looking up into his eyes and putting her hands on his biceps, “It’s okay. Seriously, it’s okay.”

Niall looked ready to argue with her, then something shifted. His shoulders slumped and he looked completely defeated. “Jesus, would ya look at me? Ya have this terrible thing happen to ya and yet here ya are, comfortin’ me when it should be the other way around.”

“Stop, you’ve done a great job of taking care of me tonight, thank you so much for that, if I haven’t already said it. But I’m fine. We’re fine.”

Niall looked slightly mollified by her words, looking down at her as if to confirm for himself that she wasn’t hurt. Being so close to him was doing nothing to calm her libido and she didn’t even think about it before she was pushing up on her tiptoes and kissing him, Niall jerking slightly in shock but kissing her back after a small hesitation.

Kat immediately parted her lips and when Niall followed suit, she slipped her tongue into his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as she held on tight to his neck, pushing into him as though she could melt into his body.

Niall stumbled backwards slightly, not enough to break their kiss, but bumping the back of his legs into the bed. Sensing the perfect opportunity, Kat gently pushed him again, giggling as Niall flopped back onto the bed, still holding her tight. 

The continued to exchange hot kisses, licking into each other’s mouths with abandon, nothing but their panted breaths and slight moans to break the quiet in the room. 

Until she felt Niall’s hands on her shoulders, pushing her back.

“Kat, Kat. We have to stop. You’re not … this isn’t … you’re just reactin’ to the adrenaline. Paul showed me this article on his phone, this isn’t an uncommon reaction to an incident like yours. This isn’t you. This is amazin’ but it’s not right, not right now.”

She jumped right up. “Yeah, yeah, good point.”

“Kat…” Niall started, sitting up. 

“No, no, you’re right. I’m all messed up. I’m really sorry about that. Really not cool of me. Thanks again for everything and I’m sorry I ruined your night.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “Fuck, this is embarrassing.”

“Jesus, there’s nothin’ to be embarrassed about. It’s just … I’d be takin’ advantage of ya if we did anythin’ and I’m not okay with that. I did want to, I mean, I do want to, it’s just …” 

“No no, I get it, I do. Seriously, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sorry for what happened to ya at the club but none of it’s your fault.” He sighed, seeming unsure what to do. “I’ll head to bed. Why don’t ya get some sleep, we’ll get breakfast together in the mornin’ before we fly out.” He stepped towards her, like he was planning on hugging her, before thinking better of it and instead giving her an awkward wave as he exited the room.

Kat once again flopped onto her bed, where mere moments before she’d straddled Niall. She was way too amped up to sleep.

Fuck it, she was going for a run. No sense wasting the energy. Might as well be something good to come from this whole humiliating experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)
> 
> If you like it, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry), thanks!
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you, as always, to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one is REALLY late but REALLY long (10K words!). Kind of intense so it took me longer. 
> 
> Hope you like it! 
> 
> Check the endnote for how you can stay updated as to when to expect the next chapter, thanks!!

One somewhat strained morning after (although by the afternoon, they were pretty much back to normal), two more concerts, three flights, and four days later, they were back in Vegas, as One Direction and several other huge artists were playing at the iHeartRadio Music Festival held there. 

They were the first act up on the second night of the show, followed by Ed Sheeran, Weezer, and a bunch of other acts that Kat was somewhat less interested in hearing. Thankfully, Niall had assured her they didn’t have to stay the whole night.

The band was somewhat more restrained before they took the stage. Harry wasn’t feeling very well and Liam had an injured hand, from God knows what that he and his friends got up to when they were in Vegas before. 

And Kat could tell that Niall was nervous, any time they had to play to a crowd that wasn’t specifically there to see them was a bit anxiety-inducing for him (and probably the rest of the band but Kat wasn’t as aware of their moods) as it was a bit of a gamble as to whether or not the crowd would have many fans in it. She was sure it wouldn’t be an issue, but he was still keyed up. 

But much like at the Radio 1 Big Weekend show they’d done in May when Kat had first started, the crowd in Vegas was loud and appreciative when the guys took the stage. They did a quick five song set and were done and off the stage within a half an hour, work done for the night.

As there were lots of unknown people around, Kat gave Niall a brief kiss as soon as he came backstage. She’d just stayed back there and watched from the side with Gemma as it didn’t seem worth it to venture into the crowd for such a short show. “You swore, babe,” Kat teasingly chastised him, as he’d forgone his typical “shh” in the “same ole shit but a different day” line in “Midnight Memories,” instead opting for the real deal. 

“Oh, you’re ‘babe’ing me now?” Niall said into her ear, keeping his voice low. His hands were still resting on her hips from their kiss and he tucked his index fingers through the belt loops on her jeans as he spoke to her.

“I am. I’m your adoring girlfriend, why wouldn’t I call you babe?” Kat volleyed back, similarly quiet, making sure there was no one close enough to hear her.

“Sorry if I offended your innocent ears with the curse, sweetie,” Niall said, at a normal volume. 

Kat shook her head. “Clearly Vegas has corrupted you already.” She patted his chest, her palm incidentally rubbing against his nipple. She hadn't done it intentionally at all, but she let her hand linger there when his breath hitched at the contact, his eyes locked onto hers.

 _Interesting…_

“Kat, I thought that was you!” Kat startled back from Niall and suddenly Ed Sheeran was standing there in front of them. He gave her a big hug, keeping an arm loosely around her shoulders afterwards. “We finally get to meet!”

“What’s this now?” Niall asked, looking at the two of them, confused.

Kat turned to face Niall, still close to Ed’s side. “Well, you know how you had Ed text me for my birthday? And I texted him back to say thank you and that was that, pretty much. But then a month later or so, I meant to send a message to Eric but accidentally sent it to Ed instead.”

Ed started laughing. “And what a text it was!”

“Ni, you’ve met Eric, you’re familiar with our relationship, so you can imagine,” Kat said, making a ‘yikes’ face at Niall with a laugh.

“And I gave her a bunch of shit about it, which she handled well, so we kept texting back and forth occasionally. Struck up a right nice friendship.”

“We did. And now we get to solidify that friendship in person!” She wrapped both arms around his waist and gave him another brief hug. 

It was still hard to get her head around the fact that apparently she was now friends with Ed fucking Sheeran. The texting alone had been surreal (although it was easy enough not to freak out about that, texting was so disconnected that it didn't seem like she was really communicating with the actual Ed) but she kind of thought he was humoring her and wouldn’t really acknowledge her if they’d ever meet in person. Maybe a “hi” but not much more.

Clearly she’d drastically underestimated him. “Is Athina here?” she asked, wondering if Ed’s girlfriend had made the trip with him.

“She is, somewhere. She's gonna love you.”

“Laura Whitmore adores her and I adore Laura, so I'm sure you're right.” Kat had Instagram stalked Laura and other members of the LIC before hanging out with them and in doing so, had come across Athina Andrelos, Ed’s girlfriend (whose name she only knew from additional internet sleuthing), in a group shot with Laura and had asked Laura how they knew each other. Apparently Laura and Athina’s friend groups seemed to have a lot of overlap, which Kat supposed happened everywhere, no matter your societal status. 

Meanwhile, Niall had a completely dumbfounded look on his face. Ed noticed and laughed. He whispered loudly into Kat's ear, “I think your man’s a bit troubled by this whole thing.” Ed put his hands on Kat's shoulders and moved her back over to Niall's side.

Niall laughed but immediately wrapped his hand tightly around her waist, giving a bit of truth to Ed’s words. He’d been fairly protective of her in general since what had happened last time they were in Vegas but this felt different. More like jealousy. But maybe that was just wishful thinking on Kat’s part. 

“Hey, sorry for not sayin’ hi to ya, Niall. How’s it goin’?” Ed said, sticking out his arm for a handshake, belatedly greeting his friend.

“Doin’ great, thanks for askin’. Better now that we’re done with that.” He motioned his head to the stage. 

Ed nodded, agreeing. “Speaking of, I’d better get out there. Festival crowds are tough, don’t want to keep ‘em waiting too long.” He pointed at Kat. “Niall already knows this, but we’re all going out later, alright? Don’t expect to get much sleep.”

She nodded solemnly and mock saluted. “Duly noted. Have a great show.”

With a dip of his chin, he was gone and moments later, they heard the roar of the crowd and his muffled voice greeting them and introducing his first song. 

Which was, fittingly, “Don’t.” She wondered if Ed had done it purposely, knowing he was following 1D.

But before she could say anything, Niall pulled her into a headlock and started walking back to the band’s dressing room as she laughed hysterically from under his arm. “Not a word, Kat, not a word.”

*

They were in North Carolina for some of the last shows of the tour, Kat texting Becca as she waited at a table in Sarah’s Kitchen, when she heard the usual voices and laughter echoing down the hallway, indicating the band was done with sound check for the afternoon. She texted a sign off to her friend, glad she’d have some actual in person company again.

She looked up to see Niall walking over to her. She tilted her head, unable to read his expression.

“Katherine?”

“Um, yes?” she replied, instantly on edge. Nothing good ever came from someone calling you by your full name, in her experience.

“Did management tell ya ya need to lose weight?” he asked, his voice hard.

She could feel her cheeks immediately burning, answering him before she could say a word. _God, did anyone else hear him just say that?_ Kat tried to make a joke of it, to make it slightly less embarrassing, “Well, yeah, they kind of pointed out that I’d been packing on the pounds lately. Guess that’s what I get for eating my feelings! And going overboard on the room service. It’s cool though, I’ve already lost that extra weight -- now I’m just working on the beer gut I had before I even met you. Don’t want anyone pitying you for having a tubby girlfriend, not when Louis, Liam, and Zayn’s girls all are perfect.”

He sat down in the chair next to her at the table, leaning towards her. “That’s complete and utter bollocks. You’re not fat in the slightest. And even if ya were, they have no right to tell ya to do anythin’ about it. Such fuckin’ bullshit, I can’t believe them. I’ll take care of this, no more workin’ out and you’re going to start eatin’ like a normal person again, yeah?”

“I’ve actually really liked the running part, Harry and I have a good time,” Kat said in a small voice. 

“If ya want to keep doin’ that, that’s fine. But hold on a minute …”

He went over to the food line and loaded up a plate. When he brought it back to her, she couldn’t help but notice that everything on the plate were things she would have chosen herself. That it wasn’t an accident was emphasized when he said, “All your favorites and not a green bean in sight. Now eat up, Sarah made an amazin’ lookin’ cake that you’re gonna want to try as well.”

Kat smiled at him, helplessly endeared that he clearly knew her tastes so well. Her cheeks still felt hot though and she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat everything he got her. She wouldn’t be able to even eat half of it, as small as her stomach had shrunk from the minimal amount of food she’d been consuming the last couple of months.

But this wasn’t Kat’s first go ‘round at someone being concerned about her eating and/or weight. After Niall got a plate for himself, she engaged him in a laughing discussion while she moved food around her plate, taking a nibble here and there and feeding him as many bites as she thought was safe without being obvious. She did try to eat more than she typically would have, but it was a struggle as she simply didn’t have the room.

She thought she'd gotten away with it until they started gathering their stuff to go at the end of the meal. They both stood up and Niall whispered to her, “Now’s not the time, but we'll talk about this more later, Kat. I see what ya did there.”

*

All through the concert, Kat’s stomach was in knots, knowing a big discussion with Niall was coming. She wasn’t ready for it but there was no way to get out of it.

 _Although_ , she thought hopefully, _maybe he’d forget?_

But as soon as she saw him after the concert, she knew he hadn’t. He searched for her the minute he came backstage (she’d learned from her many many One Direction concerts that it was a good idea to come back a few minutes early to avoid the end of concert craziness on the stadium floor) and as soon as he found her, he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower, will ya wait for me? Then maybe we can hang out in your room?” Niall’s voice went up at the end of his sentence, like he meant it as a question. But Kat knew she truly didn’t have the option of saying no. So she nodded and followed him to his dressing room, where she waited as he showered and got ready in record time. 

Forty-five minutes and way too much awkward small talk later, they were back at the hotel and settled into Kat’s room, Niall sitting on the room’s only chair while Kat sat cross legged on the bed, looking at her hands. Their positions were much the same as when they’d talked about how he’d tried to get her fired, Kat remembered. And to think she’d thought that was a terrible conversation. She kept shooting her gaze up to Niall, but he was chewing his fingernails, clearly trying to get up the courage to start the conversation.

She jumped when he suddenly, and loudly, cleared his throat, which made both of them laugh, breaking the tension somewhat.

“I know we didn’t really get a chance to talk about this before the show since there wasn’t time, but, seriously, ya need to lay off all the workin’ out. It’s bullshit they ever said anythin’ to ya and I can see you’re bothered by it. And now that I’m payin’ more attention, ya have gotten really skinny since you’ve started tourin’ with us. Which is fine if you’re healthy, but puttin’ some things together with the lads makes me think it might not be. Especially given what you were doin’ earlier with your food, you were obviously just pretendin’ to eat, which I bet you’ve been doin’ the whole time and I just didn’t notice before. Which is on me and I’m sorry for that. Can we talk about it?”

“Can we not? I’ll stop, don’t worry about it. It’s not really that big of a deal,” she said calmly, her voice reassuring.

“Kat, I think it is. How often are ya workin’ out now?”

“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug, not looking at him.

“Kat, please be honest with me. Please,” he pleaded.

She exhaled. He deserved the truth, she knew that. But it didn’t make it any easier to confess. “Okay, I run most days.”

“Most days?”

“Every day I can but every once in awhile I’m not able to. I didn’t work out much at home at all, my parents and Becca watch me too closely.” She could see Niall noting that and wondered if he’d get diverted from his current train of thought or leave it be.

He left it, for the moment at least. “How long are ya workin’ out when you go?”

“I usually just do an hour, hour and a half when I go, mostly running. Or the elliptical. Some weights too, sometimes. So those days are longer.”

“Don’t think that’s a ‘just’ sort of situation but okay. And how often are ya goin’?”

“I told you, every day I can,” Kat reiterated, hoping he’d somehow just missed that part of her answer. 

But of course he hadn’t. “I mean, how many times a day?”

Kat could feel her face heating up. Someone must have noticed; she’d thought she’d done so good about not getting caught. “Twice a day, usually,” she mumbled.

Niall rubbed his hands over his face. “So ya run three -- or more -- hours a day and ya eat like a bird. Kat, that’s not good.”

She sat silently. He was right, she knew it. There was nothing she could even say to defend herself.

“You know that’s not normal, right? ‘M not tryin’ to judge ya but that’s not safe, that’s not healthy. Not long term.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll stop, don’t stress. Thanks for worrying about me,” she said, her voice cheery as she smiled over at him.

Niall let a beat of silence pass, making Kat’s smile falter.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Kat, you’re trying’ to blow me off and I’m not going to let ya do that. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what’s the right way to handle this, but I’m know I’m not going to let ya keep pullin’ the wool over me eyes,” Niall pleaded with her, his voice earnest. “Please talk to me about what I can do to help ya with this, please.”

After a lengthy pause, Kat sighed. She stared up at the ceiling, not able to make eye contact while she talked. “I, um, I’ve had issues with this in the past. I get a little, uh, overly focused? Obsessed is probably a better way to say it. I know it’s not healthy, it’s actually classified as an eating disorder, sports anorexia? It’s not like I don’t eat, I do, but I get really fixated on burning off everything I do eat, like all the calories, I mean. I’ve been doing really good for a long time, I mean like at home, since high school, pretty much.

When I first, um, developed a problem with this, in high school, it kinda all started because my basketball coach made an offhand comment about how much faster I was and how much better I was playing when I lost a little bit of weight over one summer. What’s funny or ironic or whatever is that I hadn’t even been trying to lose weight or anything, I’d just been busy with sports camps and work and cleaned up my eating a bit, nothing unhealthy at all. But him saying that somehow just triggered something in me and I kept wondering how much I could improve at volleyball, at basketball, at track, if I took off just a bit more weight. So I started working out in whatever free time I had while eating as little as I could get away with. It was a downward spiral after that until I finally admitted I needed help and got outpatient treatment for it the summer before I started college.

Anyway, I guess that everyone’s comments -- management, people on the internet, snide things I’ve overheard from you guys’ fans when we’re out in public -- about my weight just pushed me down that path again and I went into overdrive with it, just like last time. I thought since I was older and knew how problematic it all was, that I’d be able to control myself a bit better but I was lying to myself. I feel like an idiot now.” Speech done, she dropped her gaze back down to her lap, trying to just breathe and stay calm even though her heart was racing. This was the first time she was acknowledging, even to herself, that her eating disorder was back. She’d managed to not think about it, pretending she wasn’t as bad as she’d been before so it wasn’t really a problem, but she now realized how untrue that was. 

Niall moved over to the bed to sit beside her but was careful to still give her some space. “You’re not an idiot and it’s not your fault. It’s not like ya consciously decided to do this to yourself, Kat. You’re sick, it’s an illness, right?”

His kindness made her eyes prickle with tears as she nodded in agreement to his question. She was just so embarrassed that it had come to this. “I never should have taken this job, I was arrogant to think that I could exist in any sort of celebrity sphere and not have these issues come up again. It’s not like I didn’t realize that people were hyper critical of people in the media spotlight -- I’m from Nebraska, not the moon. We do get celebrity news at home, I know how it works. It's just … I guess I didn’t even think about that part of things at all, never even considered that this all could cause such a major relapse.”

“What can we do now? Ya said ya had treatment for it before, can we find ya someplace here to go? Or do ya need to go back home? I can get management to let ya go, it’s a medical emergency, they’ll have to,” Niall said, his voice filled with empathy.

Kat snorted. “Yeah, because they really hopped to it when you had your own medical emergency with your knee. But whatever, I don’t need to go home immediately or anything, at least I don’t think I do. I’ve just got to get in the right frame of mind to want to get better. That’s the hardest part. I'll call my therapist tomorrow and see what she suggests.”

He finally hugged her, kissing her hair as he did so. “I’m so sorry you’re dealin’ with this, Kat. I hate that bein’ with me has made ya sick.”

“I’m the one that’s sorry. Sorry I’m so fucked up,” she apologized as he moved back from their embrace. Despite her best efforts, tears filled her eyes, a few spilling over.

“Kat, you’re not fucked up. Or maybe ya are a bit, but we all are, aren’t we?” He tucked some hair behind her ear, so he could see her face, leaving his hand on her neck.

“As far as I can tell, you’re just fucked up in the normal ways. Not anything that could kill you.”

“Maybe not. But I know that my parents’ divorce and all the shite between Greg and me has messed me up more than I like to admit, just in terms of relationships and how, uh, I dunno, I kinda keep people at a bit of a distance? I just manage to stay busy enough to avoid any problems it might otherwise cause in me life.”

Kat patted his knee comfortingly, appreciating that he was opening up to her, something he didn't do often. She kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt him in case he had more to say. 

He took a deep breath, looking down for a moment before he continued, “Since we’re bein’ honest here, I think I need to go, because seein’ ya look so sad makes me just wanna try to kiss ya better. Apparently I have a problem with wantin’ to take advantage of ya when you’re fragile, which is pretty fucked up. Maybe I need to find a therapist of me own.”

Like the lady she was, Kat snot sniffed, as her nose was running from her tears, and looked over at Niall with burgeoning interest. “Kissing sounds pretty good right now, actually. Can we do that?”

One side of his mouth tipped up in a regretful half-smile. “As much as I want to -- and I do, believe me -- I think we need to deal with one thing at a time. Can’t hide from this. It's too big.”

She sighed. He was right. She didn’t like it, but he was right.

*

On the private plane on the way to Los Angeles the next morning to shoot the band’s video for “Steal My Girl,” which had been selected as the first single off _Four_ (although Kat wasn’t sure why, as there were about half a dozen better choices on the album, not that she didn’t like the song), Niall got them a pair of seats somewhat to themselves, checking in with Kat to see how her conversation had gone with her eating disorder counselor earlier.

Kat quickly filled him in on what her therapist had said, then blurted out a question she needed to ask him before she lost her courage, “I’m sorry to have to ask you this, especially in light of all the issues we’ve had with, uh, you know,” -- she waved her hand, hoping he’d know what she meant as she really didn’t want to say _with not sleeping with each other_ \-- “but can I stay with you? I'm worried I'll keep going to work out if I'm on my own. I’m really committed to getting better, I am, but I know myself and I’m worried I’ll get weak if I’m left to my own devices. My therapist suggested that it would be better if I have someone around as much as possible to make things easier for me for a while.”

Niall didn’t hesitate a bit, answering her immediately, “Of course, absolutely. We can get two bedrooms suites if the hotel has ‘em, otherwise we’ll just get a room with two beds.”

“I’m so sorry, I know this is a lot.”

“It really isn’t, I’m happy to help.”

“We can have a code, like a hair tie on the door knob, so I can shack up with someone else if you need a night to yourself,” she suggested, wanting to make this as easy on him as possible. Plus she’d always wanted to have a secret code like that.

“Or we could text each other, since that's a technology that exists now.” She hit him on the arm with the back of her hand. He continued on, unbothered, “But it's for less than a week, Kat, think I'll be okay.”

“Well, if you’re not, just say the word. Even if you just need me to clear out so you can have a little alone time. Ya know, with your dick.”

Niall closed his eyes, shaking his head and exhaling loudly through his nose in obvious annoyance as she kept pushing the issue. “Appreciate the offer but that’s what the shower’s for.”

Kat wrinkled her nose. “If we’re sharing a shower, you’ve got to promise to wipe that stuff off the walls, okay? Ugh.”

“Kat, it's not confetti, it doesn’t go everywhere, ya know. Shouldn’t be hard to keep it clean, with all that runnin’ water in there.”

He had a good point, she had to admit. “Cool.”

“Ya let me know if ya need some time alone as well.”

“Will do. Probably will be every other night or so, ‘cause God knows, I love to masturbate. Can’t get enough of it. Rawr.”

“Kat.”

“Sorry.”

*

“I can stay home with ya. I don’t have to go out.”

“Niall, we’ve already eaten -- you saw that I ate a good amount -- so you don’t have to worry about that. And I’m seriously beat, I promise you that I’m not going to go work out tonight. I’ll be lucky if I stay awake until 10. I’m so tired.” They were in Tampa and some of the guys were going out, but everything that had been going on was catching up to Kat and she had a bit of a cold and was absolutely exhausted. She had no desire to party in the slightest.

The hotel there didn’t have any two bedroom suites on the floor the band had rented out, so Kat and Niall were sharing a room for the first time, although they each had their own bed.

“Ya sure?” Niall pushed.

“Positive. Have fun.”

True to her word, Kat curled up in bed shortly after he left and fell asleep watching a movie on cable. She woke up around midnight to turn the TV off, noting that Niall wasn’t home yet. Not that she’d really expected him this early, the group hadn’t even left until close to 11.

But when Kat woke up the next morning, she looked over at the other still-made bed in the room and realized that Niall hadn’t come home last night at all. Maybe he’d went home with someone.

Or maybe he was uncomfortable being around her all the time and was sleeping in the room of someone else on the tour. Ugh, she hoped not. 

Niall came back shortly after she’d gotten out of the shower, claiming he’d just crashed in Josh’s room as he didn’t want to wake her up when he got in. It seemed legit and Kat appreciated his consideration, even if a part of her still worried that he’d been purposefully avoiding her. 

She was going home in two days and while she knew she’d miss all the guys and crew and the buzz of the tour life, it probably was for the best that she and Niall get a bit of space from each other. He deserved his freedom and to be able to act like the bachelor he truly was. 

Kat was just glad that she wouldn’t have to see or hear about it for awhile.

*

> **Look at what my sisters did to my cork board!**
> 
> _Wow, that's a lotta me_
> 
> **Did you see the note?**
> 
> **In case you can’t read it, it says: We want these all back so be careful with them!!!!!!!**
> 
> **But with more exclamation marks, I edited them down**
> 
> _That’s fantastic . Be sure to thank them for me._
> 
> **I will. Have a good one.**
> 
> _You too_

Kat had come to her parents house shortly after she’d gotten back to Nebraska and had found that her sisters had redone her cork board, covering pretty much every square inch in pictures of Niall that they’d gotten from their extensive collection of One Direction memorabilia. 

What she hadn’t mentioned is that her mom had also framed a picture she’d taken of Kat and Niall when he had visited at the end of July, and it was currently sitting in a place of pride on their mantle, nestled in with the girls’ school pictures and one of Kat with her parents at her college graduation. It was such a sweet, normal thing to do that it had made her heart hurt when she’d seen it. She really tried not to think about that day in the not-so-distant future when she had to tell them they’d broken up and how sad they’d be about it. 

But that was a worry for another day.

Feeling like it was too funny to keep between just the two of them, Kat decided to post the picture to Instagram. It also served a dual purpose for her as Marnie had requested that she post more on her social media in the time she and Niall were to be apart, to ensure that the fans didn't think they'd broken up.

**_kathamilton92: My sisters are so funny, they redecorated my old room at home a bit while I've been gone. It's kind of creepy actually -- his eyes are following me all around the room. Talk about too much of a good thing..._ **

> the_eric_morris: Quit trying to pretend you didn’t do that yourself, Kat. We all know the truth.
> 
> niallhoran: Like what they’ve done there, thanks Molly & Gabby !
> 
> stephaniebobephanie: NIALLLL
> 
> rbjs2010: your so pathetic, you big fat loser why wont you just leave niall alone
> 
> always1dand5sos: God, could this be any more obviously a stunt? You make elounor look believable. 
> 
> harrystyles: I have something similar at my house

Not too much later, she got a chime indicating that one of the people she had on notifications on Instagram had posted. 

**_niallhoran: Question for ya: is this too much ? haven't had a girlfriend in ages so can't remember how this stuff goes. Don’t want to scare her off_ **

> juliafresx: My baby
> 
> juliafresx: YOU ARE SO CUTE
> 
> juliafresx: LOVE YOU SOOOOOO MUCH
> 
> notofficialyet87: literally have the biggest crush on u
> 
> horanwhore69: GOALLS
> 
> kathamilton92: who does one talk to about a restraining order in London? Asking for a friend. xoxo
> 
> marrymeharryorlouisorniall: omg you guys are the cutest i want to die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> niallhoran: babe?
> 
> kathamilton92: babe!
> 
> larrytothetenthpower: hi niall please please PLEASE follow me
> 
> horanwhore69: i’m you’re biggest fan ever please come to puerto rico
> 
> niallhoran: babe…
> 
> larrytothetenthpower: NIALL IS ON HERE RIGHT NOW. I. AM. DYING.
> 
> 1dforlyfe: kat, I think you’re so pretty and cool, please follow me???
> 
> kathamilton92: babe.
> 
> niallhoran: xoxo xxx

In the picture, he’d done pretty much the same thing as Kat’s sisters had done in her room, just with pictures of Kat. She couldn’t tell exactly what he had them pinned (or taped) to as there were so many of them but it looked like a bulletin board or similar. He must have trolled her Facebook and Instagram accounts from years back to get as many as he had, along with printing off many pap and fan pictures that had been posted online (only flattering ones, thank goodness). There were also a couple of goofy selfies they’d taken together at various points and hadn’t posted anywhere, which would absolutely lend itself to the legitimacy of their relationship, even if Niall hadn’t done it with that intention. 

What really caught her eye, though, was one that was partially covered up in the bottom corner. She was curled up in the corner of the sectional at his house, eyes sleepy and half closed as she drowsily watched something on the TV. It wasn’t all that great of a photo or anything -- she was very casually dressed and her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. But it was sweetly intimate and she had no idea when he might have taken it. 

She knew it was silly to read too much into it, so she didn’t.

Not much anyway.

*

The minute Kat walked through the classroom door, she heard. “No fucking way. You’re Niall’s girlfriend.”

Kat calmly continued on her path to the teacher’s desk, pulling her bag off her shoulder as she walked. “You know, I typically substitute for elementary students so this has been a non-issue, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be using the f word in school. I mean, I’ve been out of high school for a long time now but surely that much is still true.”

The girl just stared at her with her mouth wide open.

Kat sighed. “But yes, I do date Niall. Now if we’ve delved enough into the sub’s personal life, perhaps we can get on with our day? My name’s Kat Hamilton, Ms. Hamilton to you all, and I’m going to need just a moment to look over your teacher’s lesson plan before we start. So if you wouldn’t mind just talking quietly to each other for a bit, I’d really appreciate it.” When they all kept staring at her, Kat sighed again. “Maybe those of you who know who I am already -- or at least know who I’m dating -- can fill in your other classmates while I get up to speed? Thanks.”

At that, the teens finally quit staring at her and began chattering excitedly to each other. Kat plopped down at the teacher’s desk, trying not to let her distress show as she searched among the papers on the desk for the lesson plan. It was going to be a long day.

She’d had to repeat that process each period, to varying degrees of success. She should have known that she’d get this with high schoolers but she hadn’t thought about it when they’d called her that morning, desperate for a last minute substitute for a teacher that had fallen ill just before school started for the morning. Kat’d had zero issues the two times she’d subbed this month for elementary classrooms. 

Finally, FINALLY, Kat made it to last period. She’d gotten them on task fairly quickly and went through the lesson but they started talking loudly amongst themselves when she allowed them time at the end of class to get a head start on their homework.

She’d walked up to the front of the classroom, hoping that it would be enough to get them to quiet down.

It wasn’t. 

So she tried a different tactic.

“Oi!” she shouted, trying to get the class’ attention. 

And she certainly did. They all shut up and stared at her.

“Oi? What does that even mean?” one girl asked.

“Uh, I don't know? I don’t think it means anything, really. It's just, um, something I picked up from my friends. I think it's a British thing?” Kat explained. She certainly hadn’t planned on it coming out of her mouth so she had no ready explanation.

“Your friends? You mean One Direction?” another girl said.

“Um …”

And then the questions came flying at her from all over the classroom.

“Is Harry dating anyone right now?”

“Which one is your favorite?” 

“Are you and Niall going to get married?

“Hold up, hold up, hold up. You guys aren’t Teen Vogue and this isn’t an interview. I was trying to get you to quiet down, not all start asking me personal questions.”

They all stared at her. She’d gotten her wish, they were all silent. Uncomfortably so. “Okay, since you’re clearly incapable of sitting quietly and doing your work, please open your textbooks to Chapter 6, page 154. We’ll get a bit of a head start on your next lesson so it’ll be less work for Mrs. Calvin when she gets back tomorrow.” They groaned but begrudgingly pulled their books out of their bags and flipped them to the right page.

She had this. She was definitely never subbing in a high school again, but she could certainly make it through the next 15 minutes.

*

“Kat, can Gabby and I talk to you?” Kat was home for the weekend and lounging in her (mostly now Niall-free although she’d kept up one particularly cute one from when he was 18 or so) bedroom when her sisters knocked on the door and peeked their heads in.

“Sure, come on in, I’m just reading.” She sat down her Kindle and pulled herself into a more upright position.

They shuffled into her room, both sitting cross legged at the end of her bed. They were getting so big, it was hard for Kat to process how quickly they were growing up. 

“We’ve been talking,” Molly began and Kat had to struggle to keep her face straight. Her sister was using such a serious voice and sounded like a little adult; it was too cute. Well, it was cute until she kept talking. “And we're afraid you're going to break Niall’s heart. And we really don’t want you to do that.”

“Missy said you broke her cousin’s heart,” Gabby broke in to say before Kat could respond. Molly nodded sagely in agreement.

“Joel? Sheesh, that was four years ago, we were so young. And I absolutely did not break his heart, we both decided to break up before we went to college.”

“But Missy said he was really sad about it. Like, really really sad. Like maybe even cried,” Gabby said. 

“I highly doubt that. And even if he had, that still doesn’t make it my fault. I’m sorry if he was upset, but it was completely mutual.”

“Still… It’s just that Niall is so happy and fun all the time, we really don’t want to see that change. If you broke his heart, he wouldn’t be laughing and smiling like he normally does and the whole band wouldn’t be the same. And all he’d probably write would be sad songs and we don’t want that,” Molly explained. 

Rather than continue to argue with them, Kat just decided to give in and agree to what they’d asked. “I won't, I promise you. Wait, aren't you supposed to be on my side? I’m your sister, you just met Niall!”

“We love you, Kat, you know that. It’s just that Niall's never really had a girlfriend, at least not for this long. You've dated a lot of people. And he's younger than you. I just think,” her little sister nudged her meaningfully, “I mean, we just think he's really sweet and we don't want you to hurt him.”

“Okay, first off, I've only really dated two people, which is not a lot of people. Secondly, he's like a year younger than me, which isn't much anyway but particularly in light of the fact that he's been on his own since he was 17 and traveled all over the world. So he's lived a lot more than me -- I go to school 20 minutes away from where I grew up and haven't gone more than two weeks without seeing my parents in my entire life.”

She held up a third finger. “And what was the last one? Oh, that he's sweet and I'm going to hurt him? He is sweet, I'll give you that, but I think I'm in much, much greater danger of getting hurt here than he is. He's rich and famous, I'm nobody. He could date just about anyone he wanted to, chances are much higher that he'll get tired of me far sooner than I'll get tired of him.” Maybe she was being a bit too honest there on that last part but it was the harsh truth.

“That's a good point, I mean, everyone thought he was going to date Selena Gomez before you two started dating, she's soooo pretty. And super famous. She dated Justin Bieber for, like, ever,” Gabby said, unhelpfully (at least in Kat’s opinion it wasn’t helpful).

Just when Kat was thinking of jumping off a bridge, her sister pulled her back.

“But you're not nobody, Kat. You're cool too and smart and nice. And you're totally pretty too.”

“Thanks, Molls.”

“Yeah, like even prettier than Selena,” her youngest sister chimed in loyally.

“Too far, Gabby, too far. But thanks just the same.”

*

> **Really sorry I’m missing that Father Ted marathon and all the Irish snacks. Say hi to everyone for me.**
> 
> _You being sarcastic ?_
> 
> **Whatever do you mean? ::flutters eyelashes::**
> 
> _Ok, now I KNOW you’re being sarcastic_
> 
> **You got me, but only about the weird show and the weirder snacks. I do want you to say hi for me. I like your Irish friends even if I don’t approve of how you’re choosing to spend 9+ hours on a perfectly decent Saturday.**
> 
> **Don’t feel like a bad Irishman if you sneak into the bathroom and stuff some Doritos in your face so you don’t starve. I’ll never tell.**
> 
> _You’re a true friend , Katherine._
> 
> **That I am, Niallamina.**
> 
> _Niallamina ?_
> 
> **There’s no longer version of your name, I had to come up with something. You called me Katherine.**
> 
> _Technically, that IS your name_
> 
> **Whatever, Niallolas.  
> ** **Niallathan.**  
>  **Niallold.**  
>  **Nialladiah.**  
>  **Niallorey.**
> 
> **Hm.**
> 
> **May the road rise to meet you,**  
>  **May the wind be always at your back.**  
>  **May the sun shine warm upon your face,**  
>  **The rains fall soft upon your fields.**  
>  **And until we meet again,**  
>  **May God hold you in the palm of his hand.**
> 
> _Jaysus, that’s a mouthful , thanks for the blessing ._
> 
> **You need it, sinner. Thought it was suitably Irish to fit in with your party. Have fun today! Peace out.**
> 
> _Slán abhaile_
> 
> **Whoa, there’s no reason to get nasty  
>  (nice accent mark though, those come standard on the Irish iPhones?)**
> 
> _It’s Gaelic. Google it. Talk to ya later_

Kat looked it up, it was an Irish goodbye, literally translated it meant ‘safe home.’ Which was a very sweet way to say farewell to someone, perhaps even better than ‘peace out.’

*

> **Have fun at the concert tonight. Super duper jealous.**
> 
> _I will. Want me to say hi to Ed and Athina for ya ?_
> 
> **Not necessary, I’ve already texted them both earlier.**
> 
> _Shoulda known, you’re tight with them_
> 
> **Damn straight. I got loads of famous friends, N. James Horan, don’t you forget it.**
> 
> _I won’t , K. … wait, what’s your middle name ?_
> 
> **Alexander.**
> 
> **Just kidding. Marie.**
> 
> _I won’t, K. Marie Hamilton ._
> 
> **He’s going to be in Iowa in June so I’m totally going to that. So I only have to be jealous for like 7 months.**
> 
> _Practically tomorrow, then_
> 
> **Practically**

*

> _What are ya for Halloween this year ?_
> 
> **Thinking...slutty panda bear. Or like a skanky version of Velma from Scooby Doo. Or Julia Roberts as Vivian in Pretty Woman. Who was, you might remember, a call girl. Or maybe just going the more direct route and being a generic prostitute. Thoughts?**
> 
> _That’s a tough one. First off, what are you doing--going to a party or a pub or what?_
> 
> **The bars, if anything. Might not even do that. Although being in costume might be the one damn night people don’t stare at me.**
> 
> _Sorry about that._
> 
> **Not really your fault.**
> 
> _Anyway, guess I’d vote for slutty panda just cuz I’d like to see what that would look like . Otherwise, is there a more covered up option you were considering?_
> 
> **Of those, the only one I’m truly thinking of is Velma, because I already have the costume. But it’s not slutty, it’s just her actual outfit: like an orange turtleneck and sweet glasses, that whole thing. Pretty tame. I have some other thoughts but not sure how much I want effort I’m willing to put into it this year. I usually go all out but now that I’m a real grown up, it doesn’t have the same appeal**
> 
> **What about you?**
> 
> _Think me and some of the boys might just go as a soccer team or something . Like ya said, I’m not really wanting to put much work into it ._
> 
> **That sounds good. One time my friends and I went as the Teletubbies to this big fraternity party. We made the costumes ourselves. We were a massive hit, people treated us like celebrities. I’ve never felt so cool.**
> 
> _That’s hilarious. Which one were you?_
> 
> **Tinky Winky. The purple, supposedly gay one, which was fitting.**
> 
> _Ha_
> 
> **We didn’t end up winning the costume contest though, even though everyone kept telling us we were shoe ins. They ended up giving it to some girls dressed as Playboy bunnies. Typical.**
> 
> **But joke was on them b/c me and my friends got to wear sweatpants and tennis shoes the entire night and they were all smooshed into binding clothes and heels. So who were the real winners?**
> 
> _Well, whatever you end up doing, send me a pic_
> 
> **Why, Mr. Horan, I don’t know what kind of girl you think I am…**
> 
> _Not that kind of pic , cheeky. Just a regular one of your costume_
> 
> **Just teasing. You too. Be safe, lots of amateur drunks out there on Halloween, not unlike New Year’s or St. Paddy’s. People who only drink a couple of times a year out there going wild, no clue what their tolerance is**
> 
> _Very proud you said St. Paddy’s and not St. Patty’s. Gets me hot when people use the wrong one_
> 
> **I wouldn’t want to anger you, even safely across an ocean. You’re scary when you’re mad.**
> 
> _Really ?_
> 
> **No, not really.**
> 
> **Hey Niall?**
> 
> _Yeah Kat?_
> 
> **If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let ‘em go, because man, they’re gone.**
> 
> _Ooook…_
> 
> _Seriously, what the hell, Kat ? I’m laughing but that’s some weird shit , even from you_
> 
> **It’s a Deep Thought, by Jack Handey, from Saturday Night Live? In the 90’s, of course.**
> 
> _Of course_
> 
> _Can’t say I’ve ever heard of em_
> 
> **You’re missing out. They’re all totally pointless and stupid like that one but I love them.**
> 
> _You’re something else_
> 
> **Why do I get the feeling that that’s an insult?**
> 
> _It’s not, I promise ya . I gotta go, Willie’s here_
> 
> **Say ‘what up?’ from me.**
> 
> **No, seriously, say it just like that.**
> 
> _I’ll pass it along ._
> 
> **No you won’t, you’ll just say Kat sends her love or some bullshit like that.**
> 
> **I can actually hear you sighing from all the way here in Nebraska, it’s incredible.**
> 
> _Bye Kat_
> 
> **Bye Niall.**
> 
> _Hey Kat this is Willie_  
>  _The sky. Get it?_  
>  _Because the sky is up?_  
>  _And my vote is prostitute_  
>  _Keep it real, Kat. See ya soon_
> 
> _Sorry bout that, he wasn’t supposed to read all the messages . Gobshite (Willie, not you). Talk soon ._

Kat woke up the day after Halloween to find picture of Niall’s ass in his soccer uniform posted all over social media. He and one of his buddies had apparently decided that it would be funny to take a picture of themselves from the back without their uniform’s shorts on, with only the bottom of their jerseys covering their cracks. Kat couldn’t even tell if they had underwear on, really. And she’d examined the picture extremely closely in order to try to figure it out.

Her interest was purely scientific, of course.

Regardless of what they were or weren’t wearing, it was a nice view. Apparently a lot of her friends agreed with her opinion as she’d gotten no less than 10 texts about it, each one attaching the picture. 

Not that she really minded getting it so many times, as it gave her an excuse to look at it again and again.

> **Nice ass Horan.**
> 
> **You alive?**

An hour later and he still hadn't responded. She decided to try again.

> **It’s like 2 in the afternoon, man. You can’t be this hungover?**
> 
> _Can . And am_
> 
> **Oh, I’m sorry, you poor thing! Get some greasy food, it cures everything. And a fountain Coke, that’s key.**
> 
> _Doing that currently. Baz brought over Nandos_
> 
> **He loves you.**
> 
> _He does. I need a lot of love right now so I’m glad someone does_
> 
> **Sorry I’m not there to hold your hair back when you puke.**
> 
> _No puking_
> 
> _I can’t talk about it though because it’s making me sick to think about barfing_
> 
> _Ugh, I did it again_
> 
> **Eat your chicken. Feel better. I’ll let you go.**
> 
> _Wait, did you have fun ? You’re up early, couldn’t have been too wild of a night_
> 
> **It was fine. On the positive side, no one recognized me.**
> 
> **But neither did anyone get my costume, so that was a bummer**
> 
> _No way !_
> 
> **Way. Cretins.**
> 
> _Seriously, no one knew who you were dressed as?_
> 
> **Maybe 2 people. And a couple of, ‘oh, you’re from that one movie, right?’ Which, keep moving, buddy, I’m not impressed**
> 
> _That sucks_
> 
> **Kids these days don’t know the classics. Dazed and Confused should be mandatory viewing. People liked the pacifiers though, so I was popular even if none of them were worthy of me giving them one. Whatevs.**
> 
> **I’ll let you eat, you need to get stuff in your belly so you feel better. Say hola to Baz for me**
> 
> _Do I have to really say hola ?_
> 
> **Thanks for asking but no. You can just say hi from me. Smell ya later**
> 
> _Not if I smell ya first_
> 
> _Ugh , smell_

Kat had dressed as Jodi from the movie _Dazed and Confused_ , complete with a white sweatshirt with SENIORS emblazoned on the front, cut off denim shorts, knee high socks, and an armful of pacifiers on ribbon necklaces, just like in the movie. Best of all, she got to wear an amazing long dark brown wig with thick bangs. It was everything.

Not that the intoxicated idiots at the bars she and Becca had gone to appreciated the creativity of her costume. Per usual, the night was all about whose outfits showed the most skin or were the most offensive. 

But Kat did have fun blending in again, as with the wig, not a person she didn't already actually know seemed to recognize her.

So overall the night was a win. Clearly very tame in comparison to Niall's but she wouldn't want to swap with him and his hangover. No thank you.

She'd take a boring night with a clear head and steady stomach the next day. She supposed that meant she might actually be becoming an adult, after all.

*

Her time away from the band consisted of substitute teaching, therapy, waitressing at her part-time job, and more therapy, so before she knew it, the month of October was gone and it was time for her meet up again with Niall for the band’s album promo. Four was coming out on November 17th and they were doing a series of performances and interviews to hype it up and, of course, Niall needed his doting girlfriend by his side.

After her flight landed, she saw some sort of hoopla going on once she cleared customs in London and peered over, trying to see what the fuss was about. Ooh, maybe it was some sort of celebrity or something, like David Beckham or Jude Law or someone from "Downton Abbey"! She’d _die_ if it was Mary.

Or maybe it was … a member of One Direction. The hottest one, in her opinion.

As she watched, the crowd parted, seemingly reluctantly, and Niall emerged, looking around, face lighting up when he saw her.

Kat took off running when he started trotting in her direction, launching herself into his open arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. He pressed kiss after kiss into her hair, murmuring about how he’d missed her and how good she looked, and Kat found that her eyes were getting a bit teary.

To combat that, she moved her head back and caught his mouth in a kiss, somewhat intending it to be brief.

Niall mistook her enthusiasm, though, and went all in, his hands sliding through her hair and cradling the back of her head in his palms. He slanted his head, his tongue delving deep and meeting hers. Kat kept up as best she could, once the initial shock passed. He pulled back relatively quickly, glancing over at their audience as though he’d forgotten their existence for a moment. 

He kept his hands in her hair, looking down at her with a big smile on his face. “It’s good to see ya. That’s the longest we’ve been apart since ya first came on tour with us. I missed ya.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, we texted all the time,” Kat demurred, not willing to confess that she missed him as well. 

“It is true, ya dope. Textin’ isn’t the same as havin’ ya around in person.” He finally released her and bent over to grab her carry on that she’d dropped by his feet when she’d hugged him. Once he got it situated over his shoulder, he grabbed her hand and started towards baggage claim. 

“Ya got luggage, I’m assumin’?” he asked. Kat was looking at him and nodding, almost missing the silent figure that began trailing behind them.

“Basil!” Kat called out, smiling widely. Letting go of Niall for a second, she embraced Basil, while he patted her back, as always seeming uncomfortable with her attention. “So good to see you! Thanks for coming to get me, sure it was a huge pain.”

“You’re worth it, Kat, always.”

Kat returned to Niall’s side, linking her arm through his. “I haven’t thanked you yet. You so didn’t have to do this, I’d just assumed you’d send a car or I’d take a cab. I know how much you hate the airport and it looked like you were getting mobbed.”

“Wanted to surprise ya, which I clearly did. Your reaction was everythin’ I’d hoped it would be and more. When I saw ya runnin’ towards me, thought for a minute that ya were gonna do the full Love Actually thing and wrap your legs around me waist and the whole bit.”

“God, I didn’t even think of that. I think we might need to practice that, I imagine it’s not quite as easy as it looks. You’d need to have a good, firm base, that’s for sure.”

He gave her a look.

“Oh, that wasn’t an ‘I’m fat’ joke, I promise; I just mean, with someone running and flinging their entire weight onto you, anyone would need to be prepared, no matter how small the person jumping on you. You’d want a nice wide stance, I’m betting.”

“Alright, I believe ya. And like I said, ya look great.”

Kat had put back on a few pounds over the last month, which she was really trying to not freak out about. She was still running a couple of times a week, which was the max her therapist was wanting her to do going forward, and she’d increased her daily caloric intake gradually until she was at a healthy level again. 

She’d meant what she’d told Niall when they were last together: she truly was committed to getting better. Her parents and Becca had been hugely supportive. She knew her parents were disappointed that she’d relapsed after they’d seen her overcome it once before but they’d tried not to show it and had done everything they could to help in any way. Kat knew from her hours of therapy that some of her issues came from them, as they were both perfectionists and while they really did try not to put those kinds of standards on their children, inevitably, as the oldest, Kat in particular felt the burden of their high expectations and an overwhelming desire to please them.

Her parents were aware of this as well and were working on it, as was Kat. It was a day by day type of thing, but lately there’d been more good days than bad, so she was feeling generally quite positive about herself. 

Another step in her recovery that her doctor had suggested was completely ignoring the comments section of any articles written about her and Niall and staying off social media as much as possible for the same reason. Her therapist had actually suggested that she disable comments for a while, but Kat couldn’t tell her that she wasn’t sure she could even do that, it being a part of her job and all, so she was going to check with Marnie about that soon.

Overall, Kat didn’t feel nearly as fragile as she had in the first few days following Niall’s confrontation about her weight and she was really looking forward to spending some time with him and his band mates without the grueling pace of the tour hanging over all of them as well as the self-induced pressure she’d placed on herself to lose weight. 

“So what have you been doing with yourself and your super rare free time, Horan? Lots of golf, lots of beer, I’m imagining.”

“Pretty dead on, there. Sleepin’ in, eatin’ junk, layin’ around too. It’s been grand.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“What about you?”

“Sadly, not the same. I worked most of the time. Subbed quite a bit, which is awesome, worked at the bar, less awesome, spent time with my sisters and parents, mostly awesome, and spent hour upon hour with my eating disorder therapist and in group counseling sessions. You know, the typical.”

Niall put his arm around her shoulder, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. “Things goin’ good there? I’m thinkin’ so as ya look so much better but would love to hear more if ya want to talk about it.”

Kat felt herself bristle internally at him saying she looked better, as she knew that by saying that he meant it looked like she’d gained weight, but she knew he didn’t mean it negatively. She just had to adjust how she responded to such things, which would take some time. “Things went really good overall. Forgot how much I liked the lady I went to back then. I’m so glad she’s still there, if I’d have had to start up with a new therapist, I don’t think it would have gone nearly so well. With her, I got to skip so much of my backstory and just catch her up on the last four years and what’s been going on, some of which she knew from following me in the news, so it was pretty easy. Got some serious stares in the group sessions, but just at first. People got over it quickly and then those were helpful too. I feel good, I feel healthy. At least today, I do. And I’m happy to be back.”

“I’m happy to have ya here as well.” They continued to ignore the presence of the skads of One Direction fans loitering around them as they waited for Kat’s bags. Once they got those, they were off, Niall driving and Kat in shotgun, at Basil’s insistence. 

Niall filled her in on the schedule for the next day as well as some of the drama that had been unfolding with the promo already. Apparently, Harry had an answered a question about being female as a desirable quality in a potential date as “not that important” and management/the label were freaking out. It was still unsure whether or not they’d be able to get that bit taken out before the interview aired but regardless of what ended up happening, Kat was proud of Harry for putting a piece of himself out there like that. So so brave.

Niall’s lazy days were over, apparently, as the next couple of days would be rehearsals for upcoming promo appearances, a flight to and performance in Germany, a lengthy livestream promo for the new album, more rehearsals, squeezing in a musical with Maura, a performance for the Royals, recording a charity song, then they were off for Universal Studios in Florida to film a holiday special.

So, not much going on, really.

Kat never would have believed it before, but One Direction’s album promotion schedule made tour look like a walk in the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/) \-- I'm going to try to post updates occasionally so you all have a clue as to when the next chapter will be up, since it's been taking me a bit longer lately! Just search the "fools gold" tab on my tumblr
> 
> If you like the story, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry), thanks!
> 
> Thank you, as always, to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, this is insanely late -- I've been on vacation and didn't have much time to write. It's another long one though so I hope that makes up for it slightly!

“Did ya know ya stick your tongue out when you're typin’?”

Kat flushed. “Yes, I'm aware. Not just typing, it's whenever I'm really concentrating on something. I’d try to stop doing it but it's kinda impossible as I only do it when I'm completely absorbed in my work so I'm totally unaware of anything but what I'm doing.” She was fully regretting leaving her bedroom door open now, as doing so had allowed Niall to watch her silently from her doorway without Kat knowing he was there at all until he spoke. She’d been laying on her stomach, working on her laptop, apparently completely absorbed in her work before he’d came in.

“No reason to stop it, it’s cute.” He scratched the back of his head, looking away for a moment, then back again. “Is this U2?”

“Yeah, ‘Bad.’ It’s one of my favorite songs.”

“Damn, woman, you have some of the best taste in music ever.”

“I don’t know, my favorite band pretty much ever is One Direction, a lot of people might question my musical acuity for that,” she teased.

Niall got a weird look on his face that Kat couldn’t read. “Are we really your favorite band now?”

“You really are. You guys are amazing. Sincerely.”

Niall shook his head slightly, small smile forming, then he seemed to remember the whole point of him coming into Kat’s room. “What are you doin’?”

“Working. Some of us work for a living, you know,” she replied, turning back to her laptop and scrolling down slightly on the webpage, seeing if there were any other new student comments that she needed to respond to. Technically, Kat and the professor she was working with both handled replies but Kat liked to do them as often as she could, knowing that Dr. Hinks had a lot on her plate and wanting to help as much as she could.

It was silent for a beat longer than she would have expected, especially given the speed at which she and Niall tended to fling comebacks at each other. She glanced over and saw Niall’s offended look that he quickly tried to hide by rubbing his hand over his face.

Fuck, she’d hurt his feelings, all for a stupid flip comment she would have made to anyone that didn’t happen to be doing work at the exact moment she was. She’d expected that he’d give her shit about it, as he was working constantly and she was just lounging about the vast majority of the time. If anyone should be teasing someone about being lazy, it was certainly the other way around. Not that he’d ever said such a thing.

“Babe, I'm completely, 100% kidding, I swear. You work harder than anyone I know. Just because it doesn’t look like a more traditional job doesn’t mean you aren’t working.” She angled her body away from the laptop and towards him, giving him her full attention so he would know how serious she was. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know you’re right. Sorry, I get a bit sensitive about that sometimes. Lot of me mates from home like to poke fun about it, sayin’ I don’t have a real job or somethin’ like that. Get pretty steamed up ‘bout it.”

“I’d face punch someone that said that to me about you guys. I’ve never seen anyone work as hard or as many hours as you all do. Sorry not sorry but your friends are a-holes.”

“Some of ‘em are, yeah. Lot of ‘em just don’t have any experience with this and just like to take the piss. They don’t realize I’ve heard it a million times before and it starts gettin’ old real quick.”

“And you probably don’t feel like you can tell ‘em to fuck off because then they’d all be like ‘see, he’s a dick now because he’s famous, can’t take a joke anymore’ or some bullshit like that.”

“Pretty much.” He looked down at her and she suddenly became aware that her position put her right about at his crotch level, which would be perfect if she wanted to give him a blow job. She could just slowly reach out and pull him closer by the hips, undo the fly of his jeans, and … 

“So the whole point of me comin’ in here was to see if ya wanted to --”

The U2 song ended and as a new song started, Kat immediately popped up into a sitting position.

“Whoa, you okay?” Niall asked, hands flying out as though he could steady her from a distance, clearly alarmed by her sudden movement. 

“Better than okay, this is ‘No Diggity.’ We’re required to dance, though.”

“Is that right?” Seeing she was fine, he relaxed, stepping back and leaning against the door frame with a smirk, quite obviously not planning on following her requirement. Recognizing this, Kat slid her legs over the side, pushed off the bed, and approached him. 

“Yep, them’s the rules. Also …” She reached down and pulled the bottom center of the front hem of her shirt up and under the middle of her bra, using her other hand to pull the hem up so it poked out the neckline of her t shirt, her lower back and stomach now fully exposed. “Now you?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at Niall expectantly. She felt like an idiot but this was something that had stupidly become sacred to her and she wasn’t going to let a bit of insecurity over her body ruin that.

It took him a moment to drag his eyes away from her midsection. “Ya phrased that like a question but I’m thinkin’ it’s part of the ‘rules’ so I’m guessin’ I don’t really have a choice in the matter?” Kat nodded and he nodded back, agreeing to it. She reached into the top of his shirt and did the same to him, although it was looser as there was no bra to keep things secure. She tried not to touch his skin, but her hand grazed against his chest and they both pretended not to notice his slight shiver at the contact.

“Okay, up on the bed with me.” Kat said, holding her hand out to Niall, who took it but didn’t move. “We have to dance on a chair or something, can’t be on the floor, and since there’s only the one chair in here, the bed it is.” 

Niall grudgingly followed her and they both climbed up on the bed. 

“And now we dance.” Kat squatted down quickly to move her laptop away from where they were standing and to turn the music up a couple of clicks. As she straightened and began moving to the music, she could feel Niall’s eyes on her. “I’ll explain after the song but for now, just dance, okay?”

Niall, being the eternal good sport that is Niall Horan, actually did what she asked and they danced, somewhat awkwardly at first but getting more into it as they figured out their balance on the mattress and began to let loose. It wasn’t really full-out dancing as their somewhat precarious position didn’t allow them the freedom to really move their feet all that much but they did the best they could, catching each other’s eyes and cracking up frequently but continuing to dance. 

Towards the end of the song, he carefully pulled her closer to him, putting his hands on her hips to help steady her movements, then turning her around when she got closer so her back was to his front, letting her go once she was in place. They danced that way, with a bit of distance between them, Kat making faces at him over her shoulder as they moved from side to side, timing it so they were moving opposite directions on the beat so they could more easily see each other. As the song began winding down, she sang their names, including his band mates’, into the outra (“Niall in full effect, Kat in full effect, Liam in full effect …”), with Niall joining in when he figured out what she was doing. 

Niall jumped down once the song concluded, holding up both hands for Kat to take as she followed him. 

After a second of silence, Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” started playing.

Niall nodded in appreciation. “Nice. This is an eclectic mix ya got goin’ on.”

Kat shrugged. “Just shuffle, it’s not a playlist or anything.”

“First, story about what just happened. After that, story about what you're workin’ on.”

“Then you tell me why you needed to talk to me,” Kat reminded him. 

“Right.”

“Okay, so my freshman year of college, no one from my high school was going to the same university as me, so I had to take a luck of the draw roommate, where the school assigns you a roommate out of the pool of other people that don’t already have someone to live with. And when I got the letter the summer before I started telling me about my dorm and who I was assigned to room with, her name was Buffi. So I was kind of terrified. But when we met in person, she was absolutely awesome. Which, you know, good lesson in not judging a person by their name or on anything beyond their control. Or anything, ideally. 

Anyway, we became good friends almost immediately and did pretty much everything together. Which included fun stuff like partying and social events but we were both honor students as well, so it also meant lots of crazy nights in studying. We listened to music while we studied; we both liked the white noise so we took terms DJing our study nights. I don’t remember exactly how it started, but one night when we were both kind of exhausted from a long week of tests and whatever else, ‘No Diggity’ came on and we came up with the idea to take a study break to it. Complete with appropriate club-style belly shirts,” she motioned towards their altered shirts, which she’d kind of forgotten about. She quickly undid hers, although Niall left his alone, “and we got up on our desk chairs and danced all out for the entirety of the song. After that, any time anyone else was in our room for a study group or just hanging out and ‘No Diggity’ came on, everyone had to take a dance break just like that time. And I kept the tradition going even after Buffi and I were no longer roommates, when I moved into the sorority house. So it’s a thing.”

“I see. I like it,” he said. She loved the way he always seemed to respond to her kooky explanations or stories like they made sense to him. “And the work?”

“This summer and fall semester, one of my former professors offered me the opportunity to help her teach an online course, which means I help respond to student questions on the class page, and help facilitate group discussions on there too. The professor and I are supposed to be splitting those as they come in, but I try to do it all if I can, as this is the only thing I really have to do right now and she’s got a full course load to teach. I also help grade papers and assignments as needed. It’s not a ton of work so in turn not a bunch of money, but it’s something and I like doing it. A lot different than the teaching I do as a sub, but it’s interesting and as it’s an education course, I know it’s primarily education majors so I know I’m helping teach future educators, which is important, obviously.”

“That’s cool. And it’s nice you can do it from anywhere.”

“Yeah, that’s a huge bonus. Okay, you now.”

“Mine’s actually about ya too. We need to go shoppin’.”

“For me?” They’d never gone shopping besides to the grocery store that one time and they hadn’t needed to do that since as Niall knew Kat’s tastes now and ordered food accordingly. 

“Yep. For the American Music Awards.”

“Marnie’s not going to just send stuff?” Kat squeaked.

“Nope, guess it's too important.”

“Okay,” Kat replied. While shopping with Niall sounded fun, she was nervous -- she hadn't bought any clothes since she’d put on weight and was a bit worried about potentially having to buy a bigger size of dress and what that could trigger. “For you too?”

“No, Caroline handles all of our stuff, make sure it all goes together okay. But I have a picture of what I’m wearing so we can coordinate your outfit with mine too.”

“This is all so complicated,” Kat joked, warming up to the idea.

“Ya alright?” Niall asked, picking up on her hesitation.

“Sure,” she said, her voice sounding more confident. Buying a fancy designer dress on someone else's dime was a pretty cool thing and she needed to enjoy it, eating disorder or not. “So when are we going?”

“This afternoon work for you?”

“Sure!”

After lunch, Kat got ready, making sure she felt good about her hair and makeup so her confidence would be as high as it could be. Logically, she knew she was still in good shape -- she’d been running since she’d joined Niall in London, at the levels allowed by her therapist -- even if she wasn’t as slim as she’d been before. She could do this.

Her optimism continued as she and Niall were ushered into Harrods, an immense but beautiful department store. Kat tried her hardest not to gawk but wasn’t sure she was entirely successful.

The were greeted warmly by several female staff members when they arrived in the women’s dress department. “Mr. Horan called ahead, we've pulled a rack of dresses just for you although you're welcome to browse the floor as well if you don't find anything that you love among our selections.”

Niall was given champagne and a comfy looking spot on a sofa near the empty-besides-them fitting room area while Kat was ushered into a dressing room outfitted with strapless bras, beautiful shoes and accessories, along with the promised rack of gowns. Kat knew she shouldn't but couldn't seem to stop herself, she peeked at the tag of the dress she was planning on trying on first, pretending it was to look at the price but really wanting to see the size.

But oddly enough, there wasn't a size by the brand label, nor was there a price tag. She searched around the interior of the dress but couldn't find anything, so looked at a couple others and there wasn't anything in any of them.

Maybe that was typical of designer clothes? Like at an upscale restaurant that didn't list the prices on the menu -- if you had to ask, you couldn't afford it. 

And maybe rich people didn't want to know their sizes? Kat certainly understood that.

The first dress looked good and fit great but she wasn’t overly wowed, especially given what she was sure it cost.

She felt silly going out to show Niall and the saleswomen and although they all complimented her on how she looked, they all agreed she should keep trying on the other options.

Which was the same for the next couple of dresses. After a few more misses, the employees hustled off to get Kat her own champagne when she started looking bummed about her lack of success, leaving her and Niall alone on the sofa.

“This feels like ‘Pretty Woman,’” Kat whispered to him once she was sure there wasn’t anyone in earshot. “The department store fashion show, the fact that I too am a bought woman -- all that’s missing is the pizza.”

“Ya want pizza? I could eat.” Niall looked genuinely interested. 

She smacked him with the back of her hand. “Dude, no, no pizza in here. Focus. But I actually think I'm way cheaper than Vivian, especially if you adjust for inflation.”

He scoffed. “Ya should be cheaper, job’s not exactly the same.” 

“True.” 

A glass of champagne and three dresses later, Kat felt a thrill run through her as an employee zipped her into a gorgeous deep burgundy Gucci dress, a bit shorter than something she’d normally choose but not so short that she wasn’t comfortable in it. Looking at herself in the mirror, she finally felt that giddy feeling in her stomach she’d been hoping for.

Niall’s eyes widened when she walked out of the dressing room, looking her over from head to foot as she did a bit of a twirl. “Yep, this is the one. You're gorgeous. Ya were gorgeous in all of ‘em, but this is perfect.” He stood up and crossed over to wear she was and gave her a soft kiss, nuzzling his nose against hers as he pulled back. 

“I’ll ... I’ll just go get changed. And I agree, this is it,” Kat stuttered out, turning to see the woman that had been helping her trying to pretend she hadn’t been watching them, a deep flush staining her cheeks. From the kiss or getting caught gawking, Kat wasn’t sure which.

When she emerged in her own clothes, Niall was standing there waiting for her, garment bag hooked on his finger and slung over his shoulder. Kat smiled at him and said, “Thanks for waiting, that really was fun, somewhat surprisingly. I love that dress so much, I can’t believe I’m going to wear something so beautiful. I can carry it?”

“No, I’ve got it, no problem.” Niall took her hand and led her out of the department, the employees calling out goodbyes to them. 

Kat tugged on Niall’s hand, trying to be subtle about it while still getting him to pay attention. “Hey, I still need to pay.”

“No ya don’t, it’s all taken care of.”

“Are they just billing the label or whatever?”

He hesitated for a second too long.

“You paid for it, didn’t you? Niall, I have a credit card from Marnie, why wouldn’t you just let them pay for it? It’s not like it’s my money!”

“I know. But I wanted to get it. Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, thank you. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’ll tell me how much it cost?”

“Nope.”

When they were back in the privacy of Niall’s Rover, Kat asked the really important question, “Niall, did you have them take out the tags? Both the price and the size?”

No hesitation this time. “No, I didn’t.”

“No?” Kat didn’t think he’d lie to her but she really didn’t think that was a common practice, no matter how upscale the store.

He glanced over at her quickly. “Well, I didn't tell them to do that. I just kind of explained that you were, uh, sensitive about, y’know, sizes and cost stuff and they suggested this.”

“Ah.” Kat tried to process that, not really saying anything until she did.

“I didn't give them any details, don't worry. They don't need to know your medical history. But it seems like they’ve dealt with things like this before, they knew just what to do.”

“Did you have to pay extra for it?”

“I dunno.”

Kat blinked. “You don't know.”

“Nope. Don't care either.”

“Ah, to be independently wealthy. You're my own personal Batman or something.”

“Don't think that's quite right, although it’s a step up from me bein’ the guy that hired a prostitute for a week or however long, I guess.”

“I think Batman’s a better match, what you did is pretty heroic to me.”

Niall said nothing and when Kat finally looked over at him, after getting her own feelings in check, he was completely red in the face. She’d never seen him look any where near as embarrassed as he did at that moment. 

Seeing that completely erased any of her own embarrassment she felt about the store employees knowing about her issues. Without thinking, she reached over and grabbed his hand that he had resting on his thigh as he gripped the steering wheel with the other. She linked their fingers together and he gave hers a slight squeeze, holding her hand there.

They rode that way the rest of the way home.

*

At the live stream interview the band was doing the next day for their new album, Kat caught Harry alone so she could talk to him. “Hey, could you let me know the next time you, or any of the guys, really, go to get a tattoo? I’ve been really wanting to get one.”

“Really?” he said incredulously. 

“Yes, really. What’s that look for?”

“You don’t strike me as the tattoo type.”

“I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo but I couldn’t figure out anything meaningful enough to get until now. I realize I can come across pretty prim and proper at times but that’s not really who I am.”

“Not like a primary school teacher or anything, hm?” he joked.

Kat sighed. “You of all people should know that one’s profession does not define them. Unless you really are a slutty rock star?”

“Touche,” Harry conceded with a laugh.

“Well?”

“Well, what? Oh, your question. You’re in luck, because I’m actually planning on going tomorrow. That too soon for ya?”

Tomorrow. Shit, that was faster than she’d thought. But no time like the present. After a brief hesitation, she answered firmly, “No, that’s perfect.”

He looked at her closely. “You sure? You can always change your mind, even once we’re there. I’ll come pick you up, tomorrow afternoon sometime. I’ll text ya when I leave.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

“No problem at all. It’ll be fun to have someone there with me. And it’ll be cool to see ya get your first tattoo.”

*

> _Where are you ?_
> 
> **With Harry, home soon.**
> 
> **Was the tennis fun? I mean, for tennis? I’m not talking in a general sense because I already know the answer to that.**
> 
>  
> 
> **No. The answer is, always, no, tennis is not fun.**
> 
> _Willie and I had a good time, yeah_
> 
> _What are you doing with Haz?_
> 
> **I’ll tell ya when I get to your house.**
> 
> _You mean home?_
> 
> **Rats, you noticed that? Oops?**
> 
> _I notice everything_
> 
> **This is true. See you soon**
> 
> _I’ll be here ._
> 
> _At home._

*

Niall was all but waiting at the door for her when Harry dropped her off, following her in as he wanted to see Niall’s reaction to her new ink.

“So what exactly were the two of you up to to --” Niall cut off, noticing the taped off portion of Harry’s forearm. “No fuckin’ way, Haz, ya made Kat get a tattoo with ya?”

Kat frowned. “Hey, no one ‘made’ me do anything, I asked Harry if I could come with next time he planned to go. Which just happened to be today.”

“Why didn’t ya say anythin’ about it before I left?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise!”

“More like ya thought I’d try to talk ya out of it.”

Kat ignored the way Harry’s eyes were bouncing between the two of them as they bickered back and forth. 

“Why would I think you’d try to talk me out of it? I know you don’t have tattoos yourself but I never thought you’d care if I got one. Or some, I guess.”

“‘Some’?” Niall asked incredulously. “How many did ya get?”

“I got two,” Harry announced proudly.

Niall shot him a withering look, then looked over at Kat again, tilting his head as he waited for her to respond.

“I got two as well.”

Niall’s eyes flashed over her exposed skin, lighting on the small bandaged area on her left wrist then getting increasingly frustrated as he couldn’t seem to locate the other tattoo.

Kat put him out of his misery. “I got one on my ribs as well, okay?”

“As fascinating as this has been, I’ve gotta get going. Promised Louis I’d cook dinner,” Harry said, giving Kat a quick kiss on the cheek before he ducked out, a huge smile on his face as he left.

“Do you wanna see them or not?” Kat huffed.

“I do.”

Peeling back the tape on her wrist and ushering him in closer, Kat showed him the small heart like symbol inked there in deep navy blue, explaining to him that it was the emblem for the National Eating Disorder Association and that she wanted it somewhere she could see it everyday (but still hide it as needed for her job) to remind her of what she’d been through and what she needed to fight against every day. 

Before she could react, Niall was pulling her into a tight hug. Which she appreciated but…

“Ouch,” she yelped, pushing him away.

“Fuck, did I squeeze ya too tight? I’m so sorry, I just --”

“No, it’s just that you pressed right against my other new tattoo.” She pulled up her shirt carefully, and lifted the protective covering on her lower right ribs to show the arrow newly etched there, with the word ‘resilience’ making up part of the arrow’s shaft.

Niall bent down and looked at it closely, his breath warm and tickly on her stomach. “I fuckin’ love it, Kat. Perfect for ya.” He stood back up again as Kat covered up both the tattoo and her torso. “Sorry I was actin’ like such a prick, just surprised me is all. I really don’t have anythin’ against tattoos, just don’t have ‘em myself. Mostly because I hate pain.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you like them.”

“Did it hurt?”

“I wish I could lie to you so you’d get one yourself, but it did hurt, pretty bad at first. The artist told me I picked two tough spots as neither had much fat to pad the area. Trust me to want to tattoo two of the only few non chubby spots on my body.”

“Hey,” Niall chastised, tapping her wrist by her new tattoo as a reminder.

“Fuck, sorry. See, clearly I needed this.”

“You’ve got this, Kat, I know ya do.”

Kat smiled at him, glad she’d finally gotten the type of reaction she’d expected from him. 

“Wanna see my other one?” Kat said, turning slightly and starting to pull down the back of her jeans as Niall’s eyes widened.

“Sheesh, Horan, I’m kidding.”

“Course, I knew that.”

*

Kat’s big birthday present to Niall, the tickets to the Husker game the night before the AMAs were to be held in LA, was a major success. They, along with Niall’s North America security person, Al, flew in just for the day, renting a car from the airport and going directly to the Nebraska Champions Club, which was a small building tucked into the shadow of Memorial Stadium, for a pregame event held there prior to every home game.

Not that Kat had ever been invited to one before.

Before they walked in, Kat handed Niall and Al the lanyards with their tickets so they could wear them into the party. 

Niall put his on, then looked closely at in on the elevator ride up. “Ya spent way too much on these, Kat, I can't believe ya. Just the _Anchorman_ thing woulda been enough for me, ya know that.”

“It's not too much, sheesh. But, in the interest of full disclosure, I didn't actually pay for them. I planned on it, but when I contacted the senator’s office to set it up -- they all get free tickets to the games so there are always some available around there -- they had the University call me and it became this whole thing because you're, you know, you, and miraculously, I didn't have to pay for anything.”

“Glad to hear it. Ya don’t need to be spendin’ any money on me at all.”

“Says the man who bought me what I’m sure was a several thousand dollar dress.”

Niall, and Kat as his date, were treated like royalty from the moment they arrived, everyone in the place coming over to greet them. They hadn’t been there a full minute before they had drinks in their hands and were being ushered over to the food table, where a variety of breakfast foods were arranged for the late morning game. 

Despite all the black tie events he’d no doubt been to, after an hour of enjoying the event and charming every person he met, Niall seemed highly impressed. “You guys know what you're doing, damn.”

“Um, yeah, this is not the norm, just how it is when you bring a celebrity, apparently.” Kat looked at her watch. “Speaking of which, we still have an hour until kick off. Want to see how the other half lives?”

“Sure, whatever ya want to do, I’m all yours.”

After shooting off a text, Kat quickly made their excuses to their hosts and got the two of them out of there. Outside, there were hundreds of people around, some heading in early to the stadium, others touring the campus, while others people were handing out political flyers and stickers. Hand in hand, Kat kept Niall close to her, pulling him swiftly through the crowds, knowing the faster they moved, the less likely he was to be recognized and stopped. 

Once they’d crossed a busy street with the aid of the local police acting as crossing guards (something only necessary on Husker Saturdays), Kat pulled out her phone again and looking around, tugging Niall behind her towards an enormous Blackshirts flag flying in the corner of a parking lot. 

“Okay, this is more like a typical Husker game day experience. All these spots,” she said, motioning towards the double parking spots that typically had one car or truck parked in them, along with table, chairs, and grills, along with groups of people eating and drinking, music blaring out from all over the place, “are each rented out for the entire season and families and groups of friends get together and rent a spot so they have a place to tailgate before all the home games. Unlike at the stadium, you can drink here and, as you can see, people do, even for these morning games. It’s the night games that get really scary, as people start drinking early in the morning and are completely wasted by game time. A lot of times, security won’t even let them in but some still sneak in and somehow always end up sitting near me, so I have to hear their drunken yelling the entire game. Not my favorite.

Some of our college friends have a spot over here, that’s where Becca’s at, so I thought we could stop and have a beer with them so you get the full experience. I think they should be pretty chill with you, but if they aren’t, we can just head out, okay?”

“Sounds great. Like the vibe here, feels like a football match back home.”

From somewhere near them, Kat could just barely hear the sound of “Best Song Ever” being blared by one of the tailgates and she looked back at Niall to see if he noticed. He tipped his chin up, mouthing the words to the song to her -- she supposed that as attuned as she’d become to detecting a One Direction song at a distance and/or quiet volume, Niall’s skills were much, much stronger. 

“Kat!” Becca yelled, running over to them. When she got closer, she called out in a much lower voice, “Niall!” She pulled them both into a group hug, clearly having a great time. “Sorry for the lackluster greeting, Niall, just didn’t want to broadcast your presence far and wide. Although I’m sure word will spread fast anyway. God knows no one has anything else to talk about.” 

“Appreciate it, Becca. Havin’ fun?” Niall asked, clearly amused by her fairly obvious inebriation. 

“I am. Glad you guys are here though. Let’s get you some bloody marys. Or red beer? What’ve you been drinking?”

“We each had a bloody mary at the Champions Club so I’ll stick with that, but Niall should totally try a red beer. It’s just tomato juice in beer and it’s kind of a big thing around here for some reason.”

“Sure, I’ll give it a go. Do you like ‘em?”

“Um, not to sound like a bad Nebraskan but I don’t, really. I think they’re more for people who don’t like the taste of beer and as I actually do, I only have a sip here and there. You just have to try it, not drink the entire thing.”

Becca held up the cup in her hand. “I’m actually drinking one, want to just try a sip of mine? If you’d rather not, you won’t offend me or anything. Germs and all.”

“No, I’ll try yours if ya don’t mind.” Becca handed it to him and he took a sip, grimacing a bit as he swallowed. “Yeah, I’m with ya, Kat, not my thing. Thanks, though.” 

“No problem, let’s go get you something you will like, then.” They followed Becca into the gathering of people, friends pulling Kat into hugs when they saw her. She introduced Niall (and Al) all around, a few people getting visibly excited about meeting him but all being super nice and hanging back. After the initial giddiness in recognizing who he was passed, they all treated him pretty similarly to how they’d treat anyone. 

They finally made it to the drink table and Kat made herself another bloody mary (with extra pickles) while Niall grabbed a beer, asking if there was someone they needed to pay for their drinks. Becca waved him off, saying she’d already taken care of it when Kat had texted her that they were coming over for a drink. 

Niall was drug into a game involving shots of some sort and Kat warned him that they were sitting by senators at the game, so he shouldn’t get too rowdy. 

Before she knew it, everyone that had tickets was heading to the stadium and then it was game time, Kat and Niall both getting wrapped up in the excitement of the stadium as they watched the game from their 50 yard line seats. They spent a bit of time in one of the luxury suites owned by the University’s Chancellor, where they enjoyed food that was much more upscale than that offered at the concession stand, before returning to their seats to catch the halftime show. 

To Kat’s surprise, the announcer introduced her and Niall, then the marching band played a One Direction song as part of their performance, which delighted Niall completely. The rest of the game passed rapidly and then they were flying back to LA, in plenty of time to rest up for the next day’s festivities.

*

Kat’s first award show did not disappoint. Lou did her hair and makeup and she felt like an absolute princess. Thankfully, she didn’t have to walk the red carpet, instead meeting Niall once the band was safely inside.

And Niall…

That night, Niall was full-on Niall Horan, member of One Direction and god amongst men. He looked amazing and Kat felt immensely unsure of herself around him, reminded of who he was and how perfectly he fit in with all of the big name acts that were attending the award show. 

And Kat…

Kat was just an unemployed teacher from Nebraska.

And she felt that way before the show even started. Before One Direction won three awards and performed “Night Changes,” one of their new songs from _Four_ , which had been out for less than a week, and absolutely killed it.

As if that wasn’t enough, then there was an afterparty, packed with musicians and other celebrities Kat couldn’t believe she got to be in the same room as. Midway through the night, Kat knew she needed to get away from it all for a moment, to try to get her shit together so she could make it through the rest of the night.

Niall grabbed her arm before she could get too far away. “Where ya goin'?”

“I just need some air. I'll be back in a minute, okay?”

“I'll come with ya,” he said and Kat couldn’t think of a good reason he shouldn’t, even though she kind of needed a break from him as well.

They slipped out the side door, where it was quiet and the air cool. There were a few people smoking down the street but they were far enough away that they couldn't hear what they were saying, only the murmur of their voices and laughter. 

“This is so much better. Too many fucking people in there. I'm just going to chill here for a bit. You can go back, I'll be fine by myself.” She leaned against the outside of the building, exhausted.

“Not leavin’ ya out here by yourself. I'll just lean here next to ya, if ya don’t mind.” He moved to stand next to her, tipping his head back and resting it against the wall.

They stood in silence for several moments, the quiet chatter and faint smell of cigarette smoke drifting their way the only indications that they weren’t entirely alone.

“I don't know how you do this all the time. It's so exhausting being ‘on’ constantly. And it’s not like anyone even cares about me -- you’ve got to remember everyone’s names and be charming and entertaining. I'm tired just watching you,” Kat said, looking over at him. Now that she was thinking about it, he did look kind of beat.

“‘Ts not that bad. I like seeing all the other artists -- people I’ve been listening to me whole life. Good people watchin’. And it’s not like we have events like this all the time.”

“How do you even talk to those people? I feel like such an ass in front of famous people. Well, besides you guys now.”

“For the most part, they're just like normal people,” Niall said. “So ya just talk about stuff you’d talk to anyone about. Some of ‘em are real full of themselves, but ya learn to avoid those people.”

“That sounds good in theory but I just lock up. I’m still mortified about how I acted with Mayer,” Kat groaned, covering her face with her hands at the memory.

Niall laughed. “Ya were fine.”

“The fact that you just laughed suggests otherwise. You know I wasn’t. If I hadn't been with you, he probably would have put out a restraining order on me.”

“I doubt it. He didn’t look put off by ya at all. I'm pretty familiar with the face of a man that’s secretly terrified but is trying to be polite about it.”

“I’m sure you are, and I’ve seen you sport it regularly yourself at your meet and greets. Your fans can be intense.”

“They’re mostly lovely but yes, sometimes individual fans can be a bit much.”

“I’m sure the same is true for any fandom. I’m glad to hear you don’t think Mayer was too freaked out by me. Maybe you can hook me up with his number after this is all over?” Kat teased.

“That your plan now, just be a professional celebrity girlfriend?” He looked over at her and smiled.

“I have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle now that will be hard to duplicate on a teacher’s salary. I’m kidding, of course. I just think Mayer’s hot. Just be a good hook up, if nothing else.”

“Is that right?”

“He’s just so tall, ya know? I love that. And I heard he has a big penis too, so bonus,” Kat joked, waggling her eyebrows at Niall.

Niall laughed, then pushed away from the wall and moved to stand in front of her, hands pushed into his pockets. “That all ya care about?”

“No, but I appreciate a nice dick as much as the next person. He still has to know what he's doing with it, though,” she explained.

“Do ya have to sleep with a guy to figure that out, then? Seems risky when you're not sure the return will be worth it.”

Kat wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation that she’d began in total jest had become somewhat serious. “No, you can usually tell before you get to that point, thankfully. Like if he's good with his hands. Or a good kisser. There are tells, typically.”

“Those are good indicators if a guy’s worth the trouble?” Niall asked.

Kat suddenly realized how close Niall was to her. She tried to remember what he had asked her. “Yeah, I’ve had pretty good luck with that system, hasn’t failed me yet,” she breathed, right before he kissed her.

In theory, it really wasn’t all that different from any of their other kisses. There were lips and mouths and, after a moment, tongues. But knowing that this one wasn’t for anyone but her and Niall, that he had initiated it, made it feel like something else entirely.

He had one hand leaning on the wall by her head and the other cupped around her cheek. After her shock passed, Kat put her hands on his chest and leaned into him as the kiss continued, his tongue exploring her mouth.

So using her rating system that she'd just outlined to him, he'd be doing pretty well. Good with his hands -- check (the whole guitarist thing, the caring way he always held and touched her) when they were pretending to be a couple), very good kisser -- check. And judging from what she’d felt that long ago night when they’d shared a bed at her parents, as well as what she could feel a hint of pressed against her at that moment, he seemed to be fairly well equipped as well. So yeah, probably worth taking to bed. 

Not that she would. Jesus, that would be a terrible idea. The absolute worst. 

Niall pulled back slightly, then murmured, “Think there's a pap over there.”

Oh. So yeah, he’d just done that because of photographers, not because he’d wanted to. Awesome.

She pushed at his chest, bodily forcing him away from her. “Alright then. We’d better get back in, don’t want your band mates thinking you got abducted.” She tried not to act annoyed but wasn’t sure she entirely succeeded.

Niall seemed surprised by her abrupt change in behavior but acquiesced. “Yeah, alright.”

As she followed Niall back into the building, Kat looked towards the end of the street. Although there were still a couple of smokers, there wasn't anyone there who looked like a professional photographer or even had a non-mobile-phone camera. Of course, she supposed they could have already left. 

Hm.

“I need a drink,” Kat said as soon as they were inside. “You can go back with the guys, I’ll be fine.”

Niall seemed ready to let her go on her own, perhaps sensing that she didn’t particularly want to be with him at that moment and they started walking different directions, him towards where they’d left his bandmates and she towards the main bar in the center of the room. 

She hadn’t gotten more than a couple of steps away, though, when she felt Niall’s hand on her elbow, followed by his voice in her ear, “Hey, let’s just grab a drink at that smaller bar over where we were. The line looks really long at the other one.”

Kat didn’t really care much where she got a drink, as long as she got one. As Niall steered her his way, she looked over her shoulder at the bigger bar and didn’t notice there being much of a line, at least nothing bad.

What she did notice, however, was John Mayer standing in a clump of people near it. 

Hm.

*

A bit later in the night, Kat excused herself from Niall’s side, needing to run the restroom. Disappointingly, there were no famous people doing drugs in there, at least not out in the open (which was completely contrary to the many movies Kat had seen), so Kat touched up her makeup and went to find her group, hoping they hadn’t moved too far from when she’d left them.

They were still roughly in the same location, at least most of them. And they’d been joined by a few more people.

One of whom was Ellie Goulding. 

She and Niall were talking closely together, the smile on his face the flirtatious, intimate one she’d seen directed her own way a couple of times. Enough to recognize it for what it was.

Kat suddenly felt quite parched and made her way to the bar the farthest distance from where Niall was, somewhat casually keeping her eye open for Mayer in case he happened to be around still. She ordered a beer and when it came, left a tip for the bartender while she mentally contemplated exactly where she should retreat to now.

“Hey, you’re, ah, Kat, right?” Kat turned around, not knowing who in the hell would a) know her name at this party and b) even bother talking to her with all these amazing famous people around. 

She found herself face to face with James Valentine, the guitarist for Maroon 5. “Yeah, I’m Kat?” Kat managed to squeak out.

He stuck his hand out and she managed to shake it, albeit a bit weakly. “James Valentine. You’re from Nebraska, aren’t you?”

That’s right, James was a Lincoln native, she’d forgotten. Explained why he might have the foggiest clue who she was. “I am, I live in Lincoln, just graduated from Wesleyan last spring.”

“Cool, I’m a Nebraskan as well.” Kat nodded enthusiastically, wanting him to know she already was aware of that, even if she hadn’t been able to articulate it due to being star struck.

“You went to Southeast, right?” Kat asked, naming a Lincoln high school. “I’ve been there a lot, mostly for state basketball games.”

He chuckled. “I did. Yeah, it was always a shit show during state games, although we all loved it because we got out of school those days.”

They chatted for a bit about Lincoln, talking about the different bars he frequented when he was in town visiting friends. Kat took the opportunity to ask how he handled the attention when he was back home, as the scrutiny seemed particularly intense given the state’s relative lack of celebrities. He gave her some good advice on what to do and had her laughing about some of the weirdest encounters he’d had.

They discovered they were both raised by a pair of educator parents, although James’ taught at the college level so he didn't have the same experience of having them always at school like Kat had. But being a teacher’s kid was being a teacher’s kid and they had a lot in common in terms of high expectations their families had for them regarding educational and career paths. James cracked up when he realized that Kat was just as much a “disappointment” to her parents by following them into the teaching profession as he was to his by being a professional musician.

“Hey, who’s this beautiful young lady?” Kat recognized the voice immediately but had a hard time processing that Adam Levine was there, in the flesh, right in front of her, resting his forearm on his band mate's shoulder and looking directly at her. 

“This is Kat, she’s from my home town. She dates Niall Horan, y’know, from One Direction?” James explained, then added, politely but quite unnecessarily, “Kat, this is Adam Levine.”

Adam stepped over to Kat, who hadn’t managed to say a word but at least had her mouth closed and hadn’t completely embarrassed herself yet. He put his arm around her and spoke into her ear, “Why you wasting your time with a little boy like that? I’m sure James and I could help find you a much better partner for yourself.” 

Kat narrowed her eyes at him, not appreciating that he was insulting Niall with the first words out of his mouth. She immediately lost the feeling of awe she’d had, replaced instead by an angry spark. Pulling back from him as much as possible without actually pushing his arm off, she replied, “I appreciate the offer, but I’m actually quite happy with the man I’ve got.” She emphasized the word ‘man,’ throwing Adam’s ‘boy’ language back at him. “I know you old married folk are always trying to play matchmaker but I don’t need your help, thank you very much. Congrats on your wedding, by the way. It sounded like a lovely day. ”

To her surprise, Adam gave a shout of laughter, pulling her back into his side and shaking her playfully. “I like this one, James, you Midwesterners are good peeps. Salt of the earth and all that. I was just teasing, you know. Love those One D boys. Niall’s my personal favorite, actually. Plays a mean guitar.”

“He’s my favorite too,” Kat agreed, letting him off the hook.

“Did I hear m’ name?” Hearing Niall’s voice had Adam immediately pulling Kat in even closer. 

“You did. I was just trying to convince your girl here to leave you and move in with Behati and I, we’ve been thinking about adding a third.”

“Is that right?” Niall laughingly replied. Kat couldn’t quite tell if he was amused or annoyed, he was putting up that good of a front. 

Before Adam could respond, Kat gave him a playful shove and ducked out from under his arm. She stepped over to Niall’s side, grabbing his hand before facing Adam again. “No, he’s full of shit. James and I were actually just catching up about home -- he’s from Lincoln, too, isn’t that cool? Adam just got here and was gushing about you.” She shot a dirty look at Adam, then winked, which made him laugh.

“Thanks for selling me out, Kat. I thought Nebraska people were supposed to be nice?”

“We are nice. The nicest. Isn’t that right, James?”

“Yep, absolutely.”

“You two are clearly united against me, I’m leaving. Can I get any of you a drink?” They all shook their heads no and with a round of goodbyes, Adam was gone. 

“Kat, we should probably head back, find the other lads.”

“Sure. I’ve monopolized James for too long anyway.”

“Not in the slightest. Before you go, have you met Amy Heidemann, Kat? From Karmin? She’s from Nebraska as well, Seward if I remember right.”

“I haven’t, I didn’t realize that!”

“I talked to her earlier, if I see her again I’ll bring her over to say hello. It was nice talking to you.”

Kat gave him a hug, and he kissed her cheek. “You too, so glad you stopped me. Great to talk to someone from home at one of these things.”

“Totally agree. Good seeing you too, man. Take good care of your girl.” He shook Niall’s hand.

“I plan on it. Have a good night.”

“Kat, ya never cease to amaze me, the connections ya seem to make.” He motioned with his head towards where he’d been when Kat saw him previously, placing his hand on the small of Kat’s back to guide her beside him. “Was gettin’ a bit worried about ya. Ya never came back from the loo, and then when I was lookin’ for ya, I kept an eye out for Mayer and didn’t see him either, so I started thinkin’...”

Just about at her wit’s end from everything that happened, Kat snapped at him. “Niall, I’m not going to go fuck John Mayer in the bathroom or whatever at some AMA afterparty, okay? Thanks for thinking so highly of me.”

Niall looked taken aback. “That’s not … that’s not what I was sayin’. But I wouldn’t think less of ya if ya had. Where’s this comin’ from? Thought you were anti-slut shaming.”

“I am but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with someone just because they’re famous, without knowing them. That’s fine if other people want to do that, but that’s not me.” Kat sighed, thinking over what she had just said. “I guess I am sort of judgy about that, which isn’t cool. So I appreciate you pointing that out. I guess I have a loop hole in my own ‘fuck whoever you want as long as you’re safe’ policy where it comes to famous people. I’m consistently inconsistent if nothing else.”

Niall looked at her a moment, then ducked his head and spoke directly into her ear, “Hey, are you okay? Are _we_ okay? Ya seem mad at me.”

Kat had too much pride to tell him she was hurt and upset because she thought he'd kissed her because he wanted to earlier, when he'd really just been doing his job. So she just told him part of the truth. “We’re fine, I’m sorry I’m in a grump mood. I'm just tired and drained from this whole day. It's a lot for me.”

“I know, I'm sorry bout that. Glad to hear I didn't do anythin’ to make ya mad.”

“You’re fine, Niall. Can we go back to the hotel now?”

“Sure. Let’s get out of here.”

*

Kat flew home the next day, which was good timing considering how Kat was feeling. Niall and the rest of 1D flew to Australia for yet another awards show.

Kat was busy right away with a two day substituting gig so she didn’t follow the band’s press much when they were there, not feeling up to it, but she did watch a clip of the boys on the red carpet that Becca forwarded to her. 

The Australian reporter, after the typical formalities had been handled, asked Niall a question directly. “Niall, did your girlfriend join you here in Australia for the trip? Know she’s been coming to a lot of your concerts and saw you two together at the AMAs last week.”

“No, she’s back home. Working actually -- she’s a teacher, she’s substituting right now for an elementary school.”

“A teacher, huh? Bet she’s got some good stories for you from that.”

“She does. Matter of fact, she subbed a bit ago in a high school and had a very … interesting experience doing that. She’s used to littler kids so I think teenagers came as a bit of a shock. I’m sure she handled it just perfectly though, she’s great at what she does.”

“How long have you two been dating?”

Niall’s face showed a momentary panic. “Um … you’re really makin’ me think here! Seven months, about? I think that’s right.”

“I’m sure you’ll hear about it if it’s not!” the interviewer joked.

Niall chuckled politely but didn’t let the jab slide. “Ah, not Kat. She’s about as chill as they come, it’s one of the many reasons why we get along so well. She doesn’t get too caught up in stuff like that.” 

“You sound proper smitten.”

Niall’s face got red and he stammered for a second until Zayn diverted the topic elsewhere, saving his friend. 

After she watched that, Kat figured there wasn’t much harm in checking out the band’s performance of “Steal My Girl” on the show.

The next day, sprawled out on her bed reading a magazine, Kat looked over at her phone when it buzzed beside her. 

Niall.

Which was weird, they never really spoke on the phone when they were apart. Just text.

Kat instantly had a bad feeling. 

She answered anyway. Because she was a grown up. “Niall?”

“Hey Kat, how's it goin’?” he asked, which calmed her down significantly. He sounded fine, maybe nothing was wrong.

“Good, how’s everything in the land down under? I bet they get so sick of hearing that.”

“Everythin’s lovely, gorgeous weather, gorgeous country. Show was fun, good night.”

“Congrats again on your win,” she said, as they’d won Best International Artist at the ARIA awards and Kat had watched there acceptance speech after she’d watched their performance. She’d texted Niall congrats after she’d seen it (trying to be conscientious of the time as they were 15 hours ahead) but didn’t want to miss the opportunity to actually say it to him now that they were speaking. “The performance was great too, saw you took the guns out for it, between that and the peek of chest hair, I’m sure the fans were in hysterics.” Niall’d worn a sleeveless plaid shirt over a v-neck tank for the performance and Kat, for one, had been very pleased.

Niall laughed, but it sounded a little forced.

Kat just went ahead and asked, “Hey, is everything okay? You don’t seem quite like yourself. Did something bad happen in the future that you’re calling to warn me about?”

“Um…”

“Fuck, I was kidding. What’s going on?”

She heard him sigh through the line. “It’s nothing too bad, but … uh, well, there’s this girl…”

Kat’s stomach dropped. This was way worse than she’d thought.

Niall continued, “We met a few years back, we’ve just been friends, text occasionally, all that. She even has a boyfriend, or she did, at least. Thought I’d invite her to the show since she lives near there and I hadn’t seen her in a while. From what she said, I think, uh, maybe her seein’ me with you or somethin’ really made her, like, more interested in me so she was kinda all over me the whole time and I really did try to keep her away and nothin’ happened but…”

“Niall, you can do whatever you want, you know that.”

“Yeah but I didn’t want to! I mean, she’s hot and I like her but it wasn’t supposed to be like that, was just supposed to be a friends thing, but someone took pictures and Melly’d grabbed my hand and … it doesn’t look very good, Kat. I swear to ya nothin’ happened but that’s not how it looks.”

“Did the media pick it up?” Kat asked, proud of how calm her voice sounded.

“Yeah, some local ones, but it doesn’t look like it’s gonna get picked up elsewhere. At least that’s what management is sayin’ and they’re usually right about this type of thing.”

“Well, that’s good, then,” Kat said, not really sure what Niall wanted from her at this point. 

“I’m just … I’m sorry if anyone you know reads any of the stories and ya get grief about it. If ya do, you can tell ‘em it’s just ‘cause I’m an idiot. That and the press don’t think it’s possible that any of us might just be mates with a woman and not be sleepin’ with her.”

Kat tried to make a joke. “Little do they know the only one you’re not sleeping with is your girlfriend.”

A beat of silence passed.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I really do believe you, if you say you didn’t do anything with that girl, I know that’s the truth. What I meant was that you and I are friends and we’re not sleeping together, so clearly the media’s wrong about you not sleeping with every female acquaintance you have. 

Maybe you should just sleep with this Melly anyway if you’re already getting accused of it. Sounds like she’d be up for it.”

“That what you want?” he asked, his tone gruff.

“I don’t get to have an opinion about who you hook up with. Not really,” Kat responded lightly.

“And I don’t get to tell ya who ya can and can’t sleep with, either.”

“Luckily for you, that’s not an issue,” she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

“Didn’t ya end up hookin’ up with that ex of yours ya talked about in Barcelona when ya were home, either this time or the time before?”

“No. I considered it -- ran into him when Becca and I went out in July but he was kind of a dick about you so I decided to pass.”

Niall snorted, clearly annoyed. “What did he have to say about me? Doesn’t even know me.”

“Uh, he … well, he implied that you were somewhat, uh, less than well-endowed?”

“He said I had a small cock?”

“Like I said, he didn’t explicitly say that, just mentioned something about, you know, the whole ‘Irish curse’ thing?” Kat was really glad they weren’t having this conversation in person.

“Fuck that.”

“That’s what I told him, in so many words.”

“Damn straight.”

“But anyway, I kind of told him to fuck himself over that whole thing, so, needless to say, we did _not_ end up sleeping together. So the drought continues.” Again, she was glad he couldn’t see her as her cheeks colored slightly as she thought about the night she and Niall had somewhat hooked up but she was fairly certain that wasn’t really anything. Maybe for him, but she hadn’t come, so she shouldn’t have to count it. 

“Hm, maybe we can do something about that.” Kat must have made a noise indicating her shock because he immediately continued, “No, no, no, I don’t mean you and me. Course not.”

“Course not,” Kat echoed.

“When we’re back together, I’ll see what I can do. Sure I know lots of guys -- or girls, for that matter -- that would love to be with ya.”

“Niall, that’s …. sweet of you, but you don’t have to find me a sexual partner, that’s not something I expect from my friends.”

“We’ll talk about it later, alright? I need to go, got some interviews to go to, just wanted to talk to ya first so ya didn’t hear anythin’ from anyone else.”

“I appreciate it, I really do. Good luck with the interviews, hope you don’t get too much shit from anyone.”

“I’ll be fine, didn’t do anythin’ wrong. I’ll see ya soon, couple weeks, yeah?”

“Yeah, I think that’s right. See ya then.”

Before she could say goodbye and end the call, Niall spoke again. “Oh, and Kat?”

“Yeah?”

“About what your friend said, in case ya were worried at all, I don’t have a small dick.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

Niall made a choking noise and Kat seized the moment, saying a quick “bye” and hanging up before he could say anything.

Beginning to end, that had to have been one of the strangest phone conversations she’d ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanting to pass along a fic rec so you all have something to read while you're waiting for my updates (still thinking I'm going to get the next update done by this Friday though!). I adore this NIall/OFC fan fic, it’s so beautifully written and the characters are all so so amazing. Don’t be freaked out by the fact that it doesn’t look completed--all that’s missing is the epilogue but that’s just going to be bonus, the story reads perfectly without it so, to me, it’s a completed work. It’s called [Let Me Live in Your City](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4785566/chapters/10949087) by unheardmelodies . It’s a non-famous AU and it’s masterful. Part of me hesitates even recommending it b/c you’ll find my writing lacking when you come back to it, but I don’t even care if you do, it’s that good and everyone should read it!!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Less than two weeks on this update, so I'm taking that as a win! 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a bad idea.

Kat knew that. Logically.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to do it anyway.

After Niall had called, she'd held off as long as she could, trying very hard not to look for the pictures he'd mentioned, the ones that fans had taken of him and this Melly person. Kat kept herself as busy as possible, rearranging her closet, going through her t-shirt drawer and throwing old ones she didn’t wear anymore into the donation bin, throwing together a complicated but delicious looking dinner and putting in the oven to cook for dinner that night. 

All of which kept her busy for about an hour. Not nearly long enough. 

So then she tried watching a movie on Netflix that she’d been wanting to see forever, but found she didn’t have the attention span for it. So instead she put on _Caddyshack_ and messed around on her phone. She just had to make it until Becca came home to help sufficiently divert her attention.

But when Becca walked in the door from work, she had her phone glued to her ear. Seeing Kat on the sofa, she muted her call and whispered to Kat, “it’s my aunt, it’s going to be a while. Can dinner wait a bit? It smells great, by the way.”

Kat whispered back, “Sure, it won’t be ready for another hour anyway, no worries.” With a smile, Becca disappeared into her room.

Well, there went the magical distracting powers of her roommate she was counting on.

With that option gone, Kat decided to just give up already.

She was firm proponent of the W.C. Field’s quote, “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it,” so this totally fit in with her belief system.

Roughly one minute after she’d spoken to Becca, Kat had her laptop open and pictures of Niall and Melly in front of her.

And of course, she was cute. Super cute. Brown hair and brown eyes. Totally Niall’s type. 

Looking at the pretty girl holding onto Niall on the computer, Kat was visually reminded that she herself had neither dark hair nor dark eyes. By his own admission, Niall was attracted to Kat, but not for the first time, she wondered if that was because she’d worn him down or something, like she was always there so he had little choice in the matter. Like any moderately decent looking person with a non-hideous personality could have done the same in her shoes. Just be not gross and nice enough and bam! A pop star you’re around 24/7 might be okay with sleeping with you.

It didn’t feel like anything particularly special about her had made Niall interested in her. Just time.

Not that she thought she was undesirable or anything, she was fine. Just not really his type. Which was fine. She was fairly certain that if she’d met Niall in a manner in which he’d met Melly, he wouldn’t have given her a second look, let alone gotten her number and been interested enough to still be in touch with her a year later. 

Distracted by that thought, Kat wondered if Niall would bother staying in touch with her after her contract was finished. Would they ever even speak again after May? She hadn’t really thought about it much, but she’d hoped that she’d stay friends with all of the guys once this was all over. She liked seeing something weird and texting Harry about it, or sending a screenshot of a song she was listening to when it reminded her of Zayn. She didn’t think they’d be BFFs forever or anything ridiculous (she had weak moments where she imagined herself serving as best woman in one or both of the couples’ weddings but she knew that wasn’t likely), but at least remain in touch. 

Rather than thinking about that, because there was no value in it at that point, Kat instead thought about Niall’s whole “let’s find someone else for you to sleep with” thing. It was mortifying in a way that he thought she needed help finding someone to sleep with, but, well, he wasn’t wrong. Kat really didn’t trust that she could find someone on her own to hook up with that wouldn’t talk and completely blow (no pun intended) her entire contract, all for some sex. 

But Niall likely knew lots of people that would have their own reasons for not wanting a sexual relationship with her to get out, or people he had trusted in the past to keep even bigger, more interesting secrets about himself. It seemed like people in the celebrity world were much more comfortable and able to handle secrecy of all kinds, and that’s exactly what Kat needed. 

So she pretty much just needed to hold out for a couple weeks until Niall came through with a hook up for her. 

Nothing weird about that.

*

Three award shows, in three different countries, in three days, was positively insane. Kat felt delirious and she’d only had to dress up and attend each one, not like the boys who performed and/or received awards and thus had to give speeches at them. Not for the first time, Kat was reminded that she did not have what it took to be an internationally renowned music artist.

Which, as she didn’t have the corresponding talent, was a bit of a moot point.

On the heels of all that, One Direction was performing that evening at the X Factor U.K. Finale.

And it wasn't just any old performance. They were doing “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” for the first time.

_With The Rolling Stone’s Ronnie Wood._

Kat wasn't like a massive Stones fan or anything but she had a ton of respect for the band and recognized what a tremendous honor this was for the guys, particularly Niall as Ronnie was an amazing guitarist.

Plus, Niall had the entire first verse of the song, all by himself. No pressure.

But he killed it. _They_ killed it. Niall had been perfect, positively nailing his verse, standing under a spotlight focused only on him for it, then rocking out with his bandmates and Ronnie for the rest of the song.

And Kat, who by that point had seen him perform countless other times, had found herself absolutely overcome with lust for Niall during and after the song.

Kat knew that, surely, at some point, she’d been this turned on without anyone having even touched her but she honestly couldn’t recall ever feeling this way before. Her clothes felt like they were heavy and they were irritating and chafing her skin. She just felt tingly all over and way too aware, at every moment, of all of her erogenous zones. Not for the first time in her life, Kat was very happy that female genitalia didn’t give away one’s arousal like the male anatomy did.

But she was still freaking out. How the hell was she supposed to get through an evening out with Niall feeling this way? Or, more precisely, how was she supposed to keep her hands off Niall feeling this way? She felt like she needed to be physically restrained, she couldn’t even look at him, knowing that if she did her eyes would give her away immediately, he’d know just how desperate she was for him and then where would they be? If she could just get through the next couple hours, she’d be fine.

She was somewhat comforted by the fact that Sophia, whom she was sitting by, didn’t seem to be looking at her oddly or anything so perhaps it all felt a lot more obvious to Kat than it appeared to anyone else. She and Sophia were getting along much better than they had in the past, having bonded somewhat during the Orlando trip in November when the guys took over Universal Studios to promote _Four_. Left with a lot of downtime without the guys, Kat and Soph had enjoyed themselves on all the rides and attractions, as well as spending a lot of time with Liam’s parents. Kat figured that Soph would still choose Eleanor over herself if given a chance, but it was still nice to be friendly with someone in the same position as her.

Not that Sophia was a good enough friend for Kat to ask something like, “hey, can you tell just by looking at me that I’m all hot and bothered by Niall at the moment?” Even if they had become that tight, the fact that Sophia had slept with Niall made the likelihood that Kat even spoke to her about Niall, let alone anything regarding her attraction for him, pretty much slim to none. 

After the show was over and the winner had been crowned (it was super weird for Kat to be watching a competition show and have zero opinion on who should or shouldn’t win and she found it very freeing), Kat followed Sophia to the backstage area to meet up with the guys, trying to steel herself for the moments she’d be face to face with Niall again. 

She had more time to prepare herself once they reached the secured area, as the band were all across the room, talking with other performers and contestants, so Kat forced herself to look at Niall from that safe distance. So by the time he made it over to her side, giving her a cheek kiss and then spinning her around in a hug, she felt in slightly better shape overall. 

She couldn’t really look him the eye, but there was so much going on that he didn’t seem to notice.

After a lot of schmoozing (Niall) and standing around (Kat), the place started clearing out and they finally got to leave, heading back to the hotel room they’d gotten for the night to change and get ready for the afterparty. The afterparty was being held at another hotel nearby, for everyone involved with the show, but Niall was the only One Direction member planning to attend, making Kat slightly nervous she’d have no one to talk to.

There were a lot of familiar faces from earlier in the day and Niall effortlessly worked the room, although he didn’t have to do anything as everyone came to him. He made every effort to include Kat when he could and always made sure she had a drink and was comfortable, ever the attentive boyfriend. The people watching was great and Kat was entertained, happy that she was never really left alone with Niall as she really didn’t want his undivided attention right then. She felt much better and more in control than she had earlier, but she was worried that everything could be easily reignited if Niall so much as breathed on her wrong.

Midway through the evening, Niall reintroduced her to Olly Murs, a singer that had performed his duet with Demi Lovato at the show, who Kat had first met briefly at Niall’s charity soccer game. Niall and Olly were clearly pretty good friends as they both joked around and gave each other shit for a few minutes before Niall was called away. 

While Kat expected Olly to abandon her as quickly as he could, instead he stepped in slightly closer to her as soon as they were alone. Olly looked her up and down, and not discreetly, but when she raised her eyebrows at him to let him know she was well aware what he was doing, he gave her such a charming smile that she couldn't even stay annoyed.

More annoyed at herself than him, Kat rolled her eyes. 

“It's good to see you again,” he said, laughing at her reaction.

“You too. Nice job tonight. You and Demi really did an amazing job,” Kat replied sincerely. Although she didn’t know much about his music, he was clearly talented and had nailed his live vocals. As had Demi.

“Thanks. It was alright, but I think all anyone’s going to be talking about tomorrow is that other X Factor success story,” he joked, not seeming annoyed despite his words. She was sure he was well used to being overshadowed by One Direction but he didn’t seem bothered by it.

“I’m sure there are headlines enough for all of you. You certainly don’t seem to be hurting for attention, overall.” Kat had noticed him earlier, both backstage at the show and at the afterparty, and there were constantly people surrounding him.

“Maybe not. But I’m really only interested in having one person in particular focused on me.”

She leaned back on the wall, tilting her head up so she could meet his eyes. “You’re awfully forward, buddy. Aren’t you and Niall friends? Should you be hitting on his girlfriend?”

Olly put his palm on the wall beside Kat’s head, leaning into her personal space. He looked between her eyes and mouth, intention written all over his face. “Niall and I understand each other. He trusts me, we’re cool.”

Oh. _Oh._

Niall must have set this up, intended that they could hook up. 

Which was, well, sort of difficult to process. It was one thing to talk about it in the abstract but to realize that Niall was really fine with this, that it didn't bother him at all to have her sleep with one of his friends.

It hurt, frankly. She'd never, never, like, never ever want him to fuck someone she knew. She hated it enough that he hooked up with randoms constantly, but a friend?

Hell no.

Clearly Niall felt differently, though. 

Realizing she was past due in her response to the man actually standing in front of her (as opposed to the man dominating her brain, always), she scrambled to remember what they were even talking about. “Well if you're cool, I'm cool.” And took a sip of her drink, trying to remain blasé about the whole thing.

Kat knew she didn't have to sleep with him or anything. It was just a set up, she wasn't a prostitute. No one would be mad at her if she didn’t go through with it. Well, maybe Olly would be annoyed but that’s it.

But Olly was attractive enough. And it probably was a good idea to try something, anything, to break off her borderline obsession with Niall. Maybe she just needed to do it, so to speak, maybe she needed to just sleep with someone, with anyone, to help her shake this whole Niall thing. It wasn’t doing her any good at all.

And God, she really did miss sex. Masturbation just wasn’t cutting it.

She wondered why he'd chosen Olly of all his friends. Personally, as Bressie was clearly out (damn it), she'd probably have went for Eoghan. Or another of Niall’s friends, a LIC member, Dee, as she was cute and had a good personality. Or Greg, also from the LIC. They all had her main points of attraction, a good sense of humor and intelligence, in abundance.

Olly was funny too, but in a kinda cheesy way.

But whatever, he'd do.

And maybe Niall had checked with some of his other friends. And they weren't interested. That, that … sucked to think about. 

Kat shook that thought off. There was a person, an attractive person, in front of her at that very moment that was interested in her. Focusing on that made much more sense.

“You wanna go somewhere and talk? I'd like get to know you a bit better,” Olly asked, leaning even closer to her.

“Getting to know each other? Is that what they're calling it now? Rather forward of you.” Even though she had already mentally decided to let this thing with Olly follow itself to its natural conclusion, it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be her typical smart ass self about it. 

“Seriously, I just want to talk. To start with at least.” He winked at her. “And I don't think it looks great to have it be out here, where it looks like we're flirting with each other, you being Niall's girlfriend and all. Lots of interested eyes in here.” Olly leaned back slightly, looking around the room and taking a drink, giving her a moment to think. “When I went the loo earlier, noticed there were several small meeting rooms down that hall that were open and no one was using them, should work perfectly.”

“Good point. And sure, that makes sense.” Kat nodded distractedly, knowing where he was talking about but trying to think this through, if it truly was something that she was up for. It was certainly worth investigating a bit more, to see if she was sexually attracted to him enough to go through with it. “You could go find one and then maybe leave your …” she looked over his outfit quickly, “bracelet there on the doorknob of the room so I know where to find you?”

“Clever. I like it. I like _you_.” He lightly ran his finger down her nose in a way she supposed he thought was sexy and booped it. “I'll go and then you follow in a minute, sound good?”

“Sounds great.” Kat watched him walk away and took a large gulp of her drink. She wondered how long was long enough to wait to prevent it look like she was following him. Probably just like a minute or so or … 

“Hey, how's it goin’?” Kat jumped slightly when Niall appeared at her side without her realizing he was approaching. 

_Be cool, weirdo_ , she reminded herself. “Good, you?”

“Grand. You and Olls havin’ a nice chat?”

“Yeah, he's nice.” Kat looked over towards the hall Olly had disappeared down. She really should get moving, she didn't want him to give up on her.

“I know he's a flirt, hope he's not botherin’ ya,” Niall said.

“He was fine,” Kat replied dismissively, not wanting to give up anything more at that point in case it all led to nothing. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, it’s been a nice night. Finally just comin’ down from the performance now, though.”

“Me too and I just watched it, I can’t imagine how it felt to be up there with him. That’s easily my favorite performance of yours.”

“Is that right? It’s up there for me too. Felt fuckin’ amazin’.”

“That first verse, when it was just you … your voice was … perfect.” Kat blushed. “Like even more so than usual. The whole thing was absolutely epic.”

The color of Niall’s face matched her own. “Nice of ya to say. It’s good to have new music to play again, always so excitin’ to be the first time we’re playin’ a new song for people. And to get to play with Ronnie, was beyond anythin’ I could have ever dreamt up.”

“It just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”

“Seems so. Pretty incredible, makes me think --” he was cut off by someone shouting his name across the room. Niall waved over at them, masking his annoyance behind a smile, then said under his breath to Kat, “Better go talk to him or he’ll just keep yellin’. You’ll be okay on your own for a bit?”

“Absolutely, might just go freshen up.”

“Alright, sounds good.” He looked at her for a second, reaching up and tucking her hair behind her ear, making her shiver slightly. And then he was gone.

Kat tried not to run as she walked out of the ballroom, although she supposed that if she had, people would only assume she had to go to the bathroom really, really badly.

Which was much better than them thinking she was leaving one former X Factor contestant to hook up with another one.

Warm hands gripped her waist the minute she walked tentatively into the room Olly had marked for her and she quickly found herself pushed up against the closed door.

“Hi,” Olly murmured, his face inches from hers. 

“Hi, yourse--” The rest of Kat’s sentence was lost as Olly kissed her, wasting no time. He licked into her mouth as soon as she relaxed enough to give him the opportunity and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her close to his chest. 

After a couple minutes of heated kissing, he moved back slightly. “Thought you weren't coming.”

“Got held up, sorry.”

“No problem.”

When he moved to kiss her again, Kat pushed him back slightly. “I thought we were going to talk,” she teased, then grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him herself.

He was a good kisser, Kat had to give him that, but she wasn’t fully into it, which she didn’t think was his fault. Several kisses and some light above-the-waist groping later, Kat pushed Olly back again. 

He was instantly apologetic, pulling his hands away from her. “You alright? I'm sorry --”

“No no no, you're fine, great even. I just… do you have a hotel here in town or a house or where are you staying? I really would rather we weren't doing this in some random room at a party, a bit more privacy would be better. And we're at a hotel but I'm sharing a room with Niall so that's out.”

“They make you guys share a room? That's shit.” He made an unimpressed face. 

“No, they don't make us, I actually requested it. Long story but it's better for me to share with someone, not be by myself. We usually just have a suite with different bedrooms but this time we’re sharing a room with two beds. It's nice that Niall lets me share with him,” Kat rambled before remembering the actual point of the conversation. “Um, but anyway, I’d just like it if we don't have to worry about anyone coming in. Like Niall might have told you, it's been a long time for me so I'd like to really enjoy this, with no pressure.”

He laughed. “Why would Niall be telling me about your sex life? We're mates but we don't share everything. Hope he's not talking to everyone about how much you're getting. Or not getting, as it were,” he joked.

“He didn't talk to you about me,” she repeated stupidly.

“Kat, of course not.” He laughed again, a bit uncomfortably this time. 

“Oh.” So this wasn’t set up by Niall. Okay.

“Am I missing something?” Olly asked.

“It's not important,” Kat said. And it really wasn’t. So Niall hadn’t set this up. That was fine. Better than fine, really, as apparently Olly just wanted to sleep with her, all of his own volition. That was a good thing. 

Olly gave her a moment, then said, “So … you wanna head back to my hotel then? I'm not sharing with anyone, so you're welcome to bunk with me.” 

But first she wanted to clarify Olly’s intentions. He’d made a couple of small comments earlier that had her unsure exactly what he was thinking for the night. “Um, before we do, were you okay with just me or were you suggesting both me and Niall, just to be clear?”

His eyes darkened at her mention of a possible threeway with Niall and he suddenly looked much more interested than he had the entire time. 

God, everyone wanted Niall.

She couldn't really blame Olly but it wasn’t great for her ego.

“I was actually just meaning me and you but if you think Niall’d be into it, by all means…” Olly replied.

Kat couldn’t fault him for trying so she tried to let him down easy. “Maybe just you and I tonight and check with Ni next time?”

“Already planning for a next time, nice.” He pulled her towards him and ran his hands up her back, then slid them back down her sides, lightly brushing his palms on the sides of her breasts. 

Which made her giggle, probably not his intended effect.

Kat kissed him, to insure he didn’t take offense. Putting a bit more passion into it, she found herself getting lost in it for a moment, which both surprised and pleased her. This could be the best idea she’d ever had. 

She broke the kiss, breathlessly telling him, “I need to go tell Niall I’m taking off, I can’t just sneak off since we came together. So meet me outside in five minutes?”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll have a car waiting for us.”

Kat slicked on some lip gloss quickly and fluffed her hair before going to talk to Niall, not wanting it to be completely obvious what she’d been up to. She was somewhat to surprised to find him on his own, sipping on a beer near the bar. He smiled as he saw her make her way over to him.

“There ya are, was gettin’ worried about ya. Big queue for the loo?” He looped his arm around her waist, drawing her into his side.

Kat squirmed. “Um, no. Or maybe, I guess, I don’t know. Hey, I think I’m going to take off, if that’s okay with you.” She hadn’t really intended to ask him for permission but that’s what came out of her mouth.

“Sure, let me grab our coats and say our goodbyes and all that.” Niall ran his hand over her back and looked around the room, like he was mentally cataloging all the people he needed to talk to before they left.

“Um, actually, I was just going to get a ride with Olly.”

Niall’s brow furrowed as he turned his focus onto her. “I don’t mind leavin’, it’s no problem.”

Kat squared her shoulders, moving away from him slightly so he dropped his arm. “No, I’m leaving with Olly because I’m going to go stay with him.” She looked at Niall pointedly. When he still looked blank, she added, “Like at his hotel. In his room.”

Niall cocked his head.

“Like for sex.” There. That was perfectly clear. If perfectly awkward.

“Oh.” Niall’s voice was small. 

“Sorry, I'm making a total mess of this. Guess that's what happens when your game is as rusty as mine is. But, uh, I'm going to go, he’ll be waiting for me.”

“I can walk ya out.”

“Um, okay?” Kat said, figuring she’d have to wait through all his goodbyes. But Niall, his hand still warm on her back again, steered her directly out of the room, nodding at people they passed politely but refusing to be held up by anyone that tried to talk to him. 

If Olly was surprised to see Niall by her side when she emerged from the hotel, he covered it well. 

“Nialler. Kat,” he greeted them with a grin.

Niall smiled back. “Where are ya stayin’, Ols?”

“I’m at the St. George.”

“That's right next to ours, wanna split a cab? Will look better that way too.”

So without anyone asking her opinion at all, Kat found herself pressed between the two men in the back seat of a hired car.

As he chatted to the two of them, Olly put his hand high on Kat’s leg, on her dress covered upper thigh. As the conversation continued, he periodically slipped the tips of his fingers under the hem of her knee length dress -- which had rode up to mid-thigh-- just for a second, not really touching or doing anything, before innocently slipping his palm back to the relative security of her knee.

Kat asked a question about something outside and as Olly peered out to see what she was referring to, Kat noticed that Niall had fallen silent. She glanced over to see why and found him staring intently at Olly’s hand, tracking its every movement.

The car pulled in front of the hotel and Olly leaned over Kat to shake Niall’s hand, wishing him a good night. Olly stepped out of the car and held his hand out to Kat.

She turned to Niall. “I’ll, uh, I’ll call you in the morning, if that’s okay? Night.”

Without waiting for his answer, she put her hand into Olly’s and he helped her out, sliding his arm around her waist once she was beside him. 

Kat focused on putting one foot in front of the other, looking down at the ground and pretty much ignoring whatever Olly was whispering down to her as they walked into his hotel’s lobby. 

Her head was so full of Niall that she wasn’t as shocked as she should have been when she heard his voice behind her, slightly out of breath. “Sorry Ols, but can I talk to Kat quick?”

As they turned to face him, Olly answered, his tone slightly annoyed for the first time that night, “Kat, that okay with you?”

“Um, yeah? It’ll just be a minute, I’m sure,” Kat reassured him, although she really had no idea how long it would take, as she had no idea what Niall could even want. 

Kat noticed that the lobby was empty as she followed Niall a distance away, into a slight alcove on the side of the open room that housed a computer and printer. 

Once they were facing each other, Niall blurted out, “I know I don't have any right to tell ya who to sleep with or not sleep with but just … come back with me, to our hotel, instead. I feel like I kinda pushed you into this -- tellin’ ya that ya should hook up with someone -- and ya don't really seem like you're all that into Olly or really wantin’ to do this and I don't like that. And -- and, honestly, I don't like thinkin’ about you sleepin’ with someone else, ‘specially Ols. He's not a bad guy but he's not good enough for ya. I know I don’t have any say in your love life and you’re welcome to tell me to go fuck meself, but I just had to say somethin’, had to give ya an out if ya wanted one.”

With his words, Kat’s bravado completely left her. While he was absolutely right in saying that he had no voice in her sex life, he was also dead-on about just how interested she was in Olly and the whole idea of sleeping with someone else. Kad suddenly wanted nothing more than her PJs and a nice warm bed for one. 

“Yeah, okay,” she said softly, nodding down at the ground.

“Yeah? We can just get our stuff and go home, alright?” Niall asked, relief obvious.

“No, let's stay in the room they got us. I wanna get room service breakfast tomorrow. It's been too long.”

“Deal.” Niall tipped her chin up, looking at her intently to be sure she was alright.

She gave him a tired smile. “I’d better go say goodnight to Olly. Be right back.”

Kat didn’t mince words, figuring there was no good in dancing around it.“I'm going to go back to my hotel. I’m … I’m just, like, not in the mood at all now, sorry. I’m sure you had lots of other options for tonight and I’m sorry you wasted your time on me.”

Olly shrugged, not seeming overly put out. “Coulda probably picked up someone from that new class but it’s alright. Not a big deal. What's going on with you and Nialler though? Thought I knew but now I'm not sure.”

“That's a good question. And one I don't have an answer for,” Kat said honestly. The more she thought about what Niall had said, the more confused she was about what he’d actually meant.

“Well, let me give you my number, in case you’re interested in the future. Plus I think it'll make Horan jealous which can only help you out.”

With a laugh, she handed him her phone and managed not to look back at Niall while Olly punched in his number. He gave it back and surprised her by pulling her into him, wrapping her in a hug.

He whispered into her ear, breath tickling her skin. “Can I kiss you? Nothing big but it'll …” He tipped his head slightly towards Niall, indicating that it too would benefit Kat’s situation with Niall.

“Sure.” Kat felt like she had nothing to lose.

Olly cradled her face in his hands and pressed their lips together tenderly, sliding his fingers into her hair. True to his word, while he opened his mouth on hers, he didn't move his tongue, only giving the appearance that they were kissing deeply to a person watching from a distance.

Which Kat could only assume Niall was.

That done, Kat joined Niall again and he slid their fingers together, walking hand in hand out of the hotel. 

Together.

*

She was fine when they rehearsed “Night Changes.” Which Kat liked and thought was a nice, if somewhat boring, song (not that she mentioned it to any of the guys but Niall knew it wasn’t among her favorites).

But when they sang “Ready to Run,” whoo boy. Apparently Kat now had some sort of sexual Pavlovian response to Niall that was triggered by him singing songs she really liked.

Which was going to be a huge problem when the band started touring again in a couple of months. 

And it was a big problem at the moment, as Kat found herself completely turned on in the middle of the afternoon, sitting at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in NYC, waiting for the guys to be done with the day’s rehearsal for their performance that weekend on _Saturday Night Live_. 

Even the sight of two of Kat’s favorite cast members, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong, who, along with that week’s host Amy Adams (who Kat also adored), sitting a couple of yards away, as they’d stuck around to watch the guys after they’d practiced the skit they were all doing together, wasn’t enough to distract Kat from the lust rolling through her, making her cheeks flush in what felt to her like a dead giveaway to the state of her libido. 

To quote Aidy’s character in the “Girlfriends” skit, Kat was “blasting out of her pants” and there didn’t seem to be anything she could do about it.

They were on the move shortly after, heading back to their hotel to change before the guys had a radio interview, then a couple of hours later, they were taping their Jimmy Fallon appearance, a busy day. Niall gave her a curious look as they got into the SUV but she shook him off with a tight smile, having no interest in talking to him at all, certainly not about how much she wanted him.

Being pressed from knee to shoulder in the vehicle did nothing to help and Kat stared out of her window intently, trying to keep her breathing smooth and even to calm herself down. He even smelled delicious, the bastard, like he was trying to tempt her. As they got closer to the hotel, she noticed that Niall was no longer taking part in the conversation around them, perhaps picking up on her, uh, subdued mood and trying to reflect that. He was so damned nice, Kat hated it.

Once at the hotel, they were bustled quickly through the lobby by security. Rather than wait for another one, everyone packed into the first elevator car that arrived all together. Niall got a spot in the back corner and pulled Kat in front of him, her back to his front, keeping his hands on her hips as the car began to move. Just in front of them, Louis dug his knuckle in between Liam's ribs, clearly seizing the opportunity to torment him as they were all pressed in so close. They playfully tussled back and forth for a minute, bumping into Kat. Niall kept her steady as she rocked back into him before she could get her footing.

Noticing that she was a casualty to their fighting, Zayn swatted both Lou and Liam with the back of his hand, teasingly lecturing them about acting like adults before anyone else got hurt.

But his words were completely lost on Kat. When she had tried to move to her previous position a few inches in front of Niall, he’d tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her in even closer to him.

While the rest of his bandmates were continuing to jokingly debate who exactly was in the wrong in the scuffle, Niall bent his head, breath warm on her neck as he gently nuzzled into her. Kat’s own breath caught as he slid one of his palms onto the center of her stomach, pushing her even further back into him. She tipped her head back slightly, rolling her hips while he simultaneously pushed forward, erection pressing into her ass.

They continued their slow, silent grind the rest of the relatively short trip up to their rooms, on the hotel’s top floor. Niall used his teeth and tongue to tease the skin on the curve of her neck, and it was all Kat could do to remain standing, her legs feeling like jello.

She startled when the elevator dinged its arrival, the doors sliding open smoothly. Their chattering group exited the car, Kat and Niall the last ones out as they hung back until the last moment. Without looking at him, Kat walked forward on unsteady legs, making sure to stay directly in front of him so no one could see what had to be the tent-like situation in his pants. Luckily, their suite was one of the closest to the elevators, so the rest of their party were scattered down the hall by the time Kat and Niall stopped at their door, Kat struggling to get the key card in the slot with her shaking hands.

From several doors down, Paul called out, “This is just to be a quick pit stop, go the bathroom, get a drink, change, and then we have to leave again, understand? Let's be fast, gents.”

The guys begrudgingly agreed, calling out their own smart ass retorts and grumbling all the while. Kat finally managed to unlock the door, and with a quick glance down the hall to ensure no one was watching them, she shoved it open aggressively with one hand while the other reached out and grabbed the front of Niall’s shirt, yanking him into the room after her.

The loud slam of the hotel door echoed through the silent room as Kat and Niall stared at each other, an arm’s length apart. And then, without Kat knowing quite who made the first move, they were kissing, or more accurately, devouring each other, Kat’s fingers twisted again in Niall’s shirt while his hands shoved first his and then her coat off, then slid up and down her back frantically.

She pushed at him and when his back bumped against the door, she kept him there, moving her mouth down to suck at his neck. “No -- no marks,” he stuttered out, fingers laced in her hair. She mumbled her understanding, lips barely leaving his skin as she did so, continuing to kiss and lick but not staying in any one spot long enough to leave any lasting evidence of her attention. 

Niall only let her be in control for a short time before he was pulling her face up again, teeth tugging at her bottom lip until she granted him access to her mouth. Once she did, he wasted no time, sucking on her tongue and completely distracting her, so much so that she didn’t even notice he was walking her backwards until she was the one pinned against the wall, trapped within the cage of his arms as they continued to make out heatedly.

Niall’s knee pushed between hers and when she widened her stance, he moved so he was nestled between her legs, bending his knees slightly so their pelvises aligned, his denim covered cock pushing against her clothed center in a completely electrifying way. They ground against each other, Niall holding her up on the wall as he rocked up into her, kissing her fiercely all the while.

When she felt like she couldn’t take another second of the friction, Kat began moving her hands down his torso, stopping at his waistband. She broke away from his kiss for a second and looked up at him, waiting for his assent before she undid his jeans and reached into his boxer briefs. He groaned as she took him in hand. “‘M not gonna last long, ‘m warnin’ ya now,” he panted.

Moving her palm along his length, Kat replied, “That’s okay, no one really wants an endurance man when giving a handie.” 

Niall gave a choked laugh that quickly turned into a moan as Kat twisted her wrist. Grasping her face in between his hands, he pulled her to him, giving her a filthy kiss as he flexed his hips, pushing into her grip. 

True to his word, Niall only lasted a couple more minutes before finishing hotly in her hand, his breath stuttering before he rotated and collapsed against the wall beside her, taking her trapped hand with. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, taking big gasps of air.

While he was somewhat distracted, Kat carefully and awkwardly pulled her hand out of his pants, discreetly trying to wipe her palm off on his undies while she did so (figuring that they were dirty enough anyway at that point, what was a bit more fluid?). Now that the intensity of the moment was over, she wondered how Niall was going to react. 

Distracting her from that worry, however, was the fact that she was still immensely turned on.

And she wanted nothing more than for Niall to help her remedy that situation.

Hope flared in her stomach when Niall finally opened his eyes and pulled her towards him again, kissing her softly. “That was fantastic. Now then …” He trailed his hands down her sides, his destination clear, only to be interrupted by a pounding on their door, mere feet away from them, making them both jump.

“Nialler, it’s time to go!”

Without intending to, Kat bucked her hips up into Niall’s and he groaned softly, then barked out, “Be right there, Liam!”

“You’re not seriously going to leave me like this, are you?” Kat asked in a whisper, way past feeling shame.

“Shit, Kat, I have to. I gotta change me jeans quick and even then it’s --”

Another loud pound shook the door. “Now, Niall!”

Niall raised his eyebrows at her, Liam’s words proving his point that there wasn’t time. 

Feeling bold and, quite frankly, extremely horny, Kat followed him into his room and laid back on the bed as he changed, her hand moving down her body before sliding slowly back and forth under the waistband of her jeans, her fingertips just touching the top of her underwear. His eyes were fixated on her hand’s movements, causing him to stumble as he attempted to squeeze into yet another pair of black skinny jeans. 

“I guess I’ll just have to see to myself then, while you’re all busy doing your interview,” she said, her voice low and teasing.

Jeans on and buttoned over his now again semi-hard dick, Niall jogged over to the bed, kissing her hard as he pinned down her hand. “Just wait, Kat, please wait for me. This shouldn’t take that long and I’ll make it worth it for ya, I promise.”

Kat pretended to be considering his words before replying, “You’d better. I’ll be here, thinking of you.”

Niall adjusted himself in his jeans, muttering a quick “fuck” as he left, shouting out a brief goodbye from the next room before the door closed behind him.

“Fuck is right,” Kat said to herself, collapsing back onto the bed in frustration.

*

Pretty much the minute Niall walked into his bedroom after the interview, Kat could tell from looking at him that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

She was right.

“Kat, I’ve been thinkin’, ya know, durin’ the drive to and from the radio station, and I don’t think we should do this. It’s just not a good idea, ya know? I mean, that was amazin’ earlier but it’s just going to complicate everythin’ and … and yeah, we really shouldn’t,” he finished lamely.

Eyes wide, he managed to duck and narrowly avoid getting hit by the decorative pillow that Kat had chucked at his head. 

“Of course you’d fucking say that now. Super easy for you now that you’ve gotten off already. Nevermind me. Thanks a fucking lot.”

“Shit, I completely forgot that I left ya hangin’.” He took a step towards her, his eyes darkening as he looked up and down her body where she was lounging on the bed. “I can fix that for ya but after that …”

“You’re fucking dreaming, Horan, if you think I’d let you touch me now, after that little speech about how us fooling around is the worst idea ever. Fuck off.” She pushed herself up and shoved by him, stomping into her own bedroom and slamming the door, locking it behind her.

Not that she needed to, as Niall didn’t even bother to come after her.

*

Ten minutes later and Kat had come to the sobering realization that she was wrong.

Which was the worst thing ever, normally. 

But it was much, much worse in this case as she’d basically thrown a temper tantrum because Niall had -- maturely, reasonably, calmly, politely -- expressed concerns about the two of them hooking up, which aligned perfectly with what they’d both previously decided was the best thing for their friendship. 

Pretty much, she’d thrown a fit because he didn’t help her come.

And that … that was mortifying. What made it even worse is that Kat had been having second -- and third, and fourth, and one hundred and sixty eighth -- thoughts about the whole thing the entire time Niall was gone, but as they’d completely evaporated the moment she saw him again, apparently that made Niall the bad guy. 

Knowing that she needed to own her mistake as soon as possible, Kat shot Niall a text rather than just going to his room. Call her a wimp but she would rather he be rude over the phone than face to face.

> **Hey, you still around? Wanted to see you, just to talk and apologize**
> 
> _You don't need to apologize but yes , please come over_

Niall called out “come in” at her quiet knock and she opened the door to see him sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, his hands gripped tightly together.

“Fuck, Niall, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot and I’m sorry. I don’t really even have anything else to say for myself,” Kat blurted out instantly, completely ashamed that she’d so obviously upset him.

“Kat, I’m the one that’s sorry. I just did that in the worst fuckin’ way possible and I was sittin’ here tryin’ to figure out how to make it better but …” he trailed off, searching for the right words.

He took a deep breath, looking up at her and continuing, “Kat, I want to, you’ve gotta know that. Of course I want to. I honestly want to fuck ya more than anythin’ I can remember wantin’ in me life, but I also care about ya more than any girl -- any woman, I mean -- that I'm not related to, in me life. And I don't wanna fuck that up.”

“Niall, I get it. We’ve talked about this, we agreed, then this happened and I forgot everything entirely. We shouldn’t have done anything without talking about it first, so we fucked up by doing anything remotely sexual with each other without deciding together before that it was okay to change our game plan.”

“Kat, this is more my fault than yours,” Niall argued, looking like he intended to go on.

She held up her hand to stop him. “Enough, there’s no benefit in placing percentages of blame here. I think it’s safe to say we were both into it so we’re both in the wrong. We’ve just got to move past it, like we’ve done before.” She shook her head, a wry smile on her lips. “I’m getting deja vu here, pretty sure I might be saying some of the exact same shit I did last time. This seems to keep happening.”

“Yeah, and it’s always me gettin’ off and you left hangin’,” Niall muttered.

“Yeah, that is kind of a recurring theme here, huh? Classic male-female dynamic,” Kat joked. “We weren’t even drunk this time, so we have nothing to blame but ourselves, although you did have to be surrounded by several hot girls at SNL so maybe they’re partly responsible as well.”

“Fuck, Kat, that was all you. Ya looked so hot sitting there watchin’ us practice that I could barely keep me eyes off ya. Wasn’t until we were in the car that I figured out that the reason ya were bein’ so quiet and distant was because ya were turned on. And once I figured that out --” 

Kat cut him off again. “Niall. That’s really, uh, sweet, or whatever, but it’s not helping.”

“Fuck, I know. I’m gettin’ all worked up again just thinkin’ about it, sorry.”

She chose to ignore that, pointedly not looking at his crotch. “This is perfect timing, really, we have the holidays to cool off and get back on track. We can focus a bit more on Jesus, less on our genitalia.” Through some seriously shrewd negotiating, Niall had managed to get management to let Kat spend Christmas at home and not with him, so she had a week home with her family before she had to go to London to celebrate New Year’s Eve with him, which sounded like a lot of fun. 

Niall snorted at her word choice. “Kat, you’ve completely lost the plot.”

“Says the guy who just gave a two minute monologue about how horny we both make each other immediately after we’ve reconfirmed our decision not to fuck.”

“Ya got me there.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this update took forever so I apologize. I wish I could say it won't happen again but I can't promise that. But I have every intention of finishing the story (and I'm not working on anything else) so the updates will come, they just might take awhile. That said, I'm working on the next chapter already so hopefully it will be done in a more reasonable time frame. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it! It's really really long, so heads up!
> 
> Thank you so much for all your kind comments and support.

What exactly do you get a millionaire for Christmas? 

Kat and Niall had decided to delay their gift giving to each other (which they both promised to keep small, although Kat was quite certain that small to Niall and small to Kat had two entirely different price points, given their individual incomes) until after Christmas when they were together again. 

Kat was thankful for the extra time to shop but she hadn’t had the stroke of inspiration yet that she’d been hoping for. She’d already bought him a vintage Bruce Springsteen shirt to commemorate their first “date” but that wasn’t enough, plus Niall needed more t-shirts like she needed another 40 grand in student loans (so not at all, although he’d obviously like the shirt way more than Kat would like more debt).

She had a list of ideas that she’d discarded involving golf, guitars, beer, and Ireland, figuring those were gifts that any fan would come up with (confirmed when, maybe, just maybe, she’d Googled “niall horan gift ideas” in a moment of desperation and found that all her crap gift categories were already echoed all across the internet), wanting to get something that showed that she legitimately knew him -- like, really knew him. And that she cared about him. 

As a friend, of course. 

When she finally landed on what felt like a great idea, she was thankful, but worried she wouldn’t have enough time to execute it, given that it was all of two days before Christmas so no time to get something shipped, and local stores were sure to be either swamped or closed for the holiday. She did what she could, though, to put her plan into action, hoping things would come together in the end.

If they didn't, she was giving one of her best friends -- who’d had one of her favorite musical artists leave her a message AND bought her expensive concert tickets for her birthday back when he didn’t even _like_ her -- a $35 shirt for the biggest gift giving event of the year.

So she _really_ hoped her other present came through in time.

A phone call Kat received later that day made her almost forget entirely about all that. According to the voice on the other end of the line, a kindergarten teacher at what had to be Kat’s dream elementary school to teach at was having a last minute surgery and would be out for the first two weeks of the next semester to recover, and they needed someone to cover her class. And they were asking Kat if she’d take the job. 

Which Kat would love to do. But it wasn’t only up to her, sadly.

She sent a text to Niall before she let herself get too excited.

> **Eeek, I just got offered a two week subbing gig at one of the elementary schools I’d kill to teach at next year. It’s at the start of January, think management will let me do it? Cross your fingers for me!**
> 
> _Sure, don’t see why not. We’re not touring for another month after that . Congrats, sounds like a great opportunity!_
> 
> **I’ll text them first thing in the morning, hope they give me the ok!**
> 
> _Hope so too. Hey, you wanna FaceTime? I’m at my mam’s and you should see how she’s decked the place out ! Plus Theo’s here and I know you love him_
> 
> **Sure, I’m home too. Will be fun to compare!**
> 
> _I’ll call ya , give me 15 minutes, ok?_
> 
> **Sounds good, see you then!**

Kat appreciated his optimism about the substituting job, but she wasn’t quite so sure that Marnie and company would be fine with it. She hadn't received her schedule for January from management yet, but presumably they’d want her to be with Niall as much as possible. Like they always did. Kat knew that Niall planned to go to Australia well in advance of the start of their tour that began there on February 7 and Kat had figured she’d be required to go with him.

Which would have been amazing, normally. But she really _really_ wanted this job. It would be such a great opportunity for her, plus the money would be nice. 

But it was all going to be in the hands of One Direction’s management. So Kat was pretty much prepared for the worst.

*

Shockingly enough, Marnie said Kat could take the job when she spoke to her the next morning. Kat hadn’t even needed to use all the argument points she’d stayed up half the night to prepare.

Kat hadn’t even expected to get an answer one way or the other right away, figuring that Marnie would have to take it to her bosses to confer upon, but no, there on the spot, Marnie said it was fine for Kat to work those two weeks, she just needed to leave the day after it ended to meet Niall in Australia.

Kat was still somewhat in shock when she called the school back and accepted. Immediately after, she starting texting Niall the good news but, before she could even send it, her phone beeped with an incoming message. It wasn’t from Niall, though.

> _It’s love, is it?_

Kat had gotten a lot of strange texts in her life, and many of them had been from her mother (who was over at a friend’s house, no doubt wrapping all the “santa” presents), but this one might take the cake. Was that a quote from a movie, or a song lyric? Having no patience for Googling it to try to figure it out herself, Kat shot a text back to her mom.

> **Um, what?**
> 
> _I saw Niall’s post on Instagram. Think you might mention something about being in love to your only mother but I guess not. ;)_

Quick as she could, Kat closed out of her messages and scrolled to the Instagram app, to Niall’s account. 

Where he’d posted a screenshot of the two of them FaceTiming the day before, Kat’s face taking up the majority of the screen with his in a small square in the lower left corner. Although obviously she would have appreciated a heads up from him that he was even taking a picture, let alone planning on posting it online, she couldn’t be too mad as she didn’t look half bad in the picture. Kind of sleepy but happy and smitten, her chin balanced on the heel of her hand as she smiled into the screen, the lights from her family’s Christmas tree glowing merrily behind her. 

Busy staring at herself in the picture critically, Kat almost forgot the whole point of looking was her mom’s text when she remembered with a jolt, her eyes scanning below the picture for the caption. 

_**niallhoran** : When you love her but you both really want to spend Christmas at home … _

As usual, it was a nice picture with a nice caption. Niall excelling at this fake relationship as always. And he probably did love her, and she him, just not the way the whole thing implied, just as friends.

Because that’s all they were. Friends. Good friends.

And that meant she could -- and should -- absolutely tease him about it. She deleted her previous unsent message to him and started again.

> **Saw your post. Love you too. :P**
> 
> **You got my mom all hopped up, wondering if there was something I hadn’t told her. I'm guessing this is part of how you got me the week at home for the holiday?**
> 
> _You got it in one._
> 
> _How'd it go with Marnie_
> 
> **Oh, that's what I was really texting to tell you, she said yes!!!**
> 
> _Congrats, Ms. Hamilton !_
> 
> **It was way easier than I expected, I seriously can’t believe it. Guess sometimes when you’re prepared for the worst, you can be pleasantly surprised**
> 
> _Sounds about right. Hey, I’ve gotta go , at the hospital visiting some sick kids_
> 
> **Jeez, Horan, way to be a saint right before Christmas, both ensuring you’re not on the naughty list AND making the rest of us look bad**
> 
> _Just following your advice, focusing on Jesus instead of … other stuff_
> 
> **Thanks for not using the word I did**
> 
> **You’re awesome for visiting, sure you’re making those kids holidays so much better. Have a good Christmas Eve/Louis’ birthday, talk to you soon.**
> 
> _Sounds good , congrats again Kat! Really happy for you_

****  


*

Just as she'd fervently hoped, Kat’s bigger gift for Niall was done in time. Just barely.

Even though she’d paid extra to have it rushed, it wasn’t ready for her to pick up until the last possible day, leaving her just enough time to wrap it nicely and pack it safely in her to-be checked luggage before she left for the airport.

After all that rushing around, her flights to London were blissfully uneventful and relaxing. Niall wasn't at Heathrow when she landed, which she was mostly glad for, remembering all the fans and photos that had come with him the last time he’d come to pick her up. In Niall’s absence, Kat found a man holding a sign with her name, and after she introduced herself to him, he retrieved her bag and led her towards a waiting town car. 

She slid into the backseat of the vehicle, bottom first (to ensure there wouldn’t be any fan pics of her ass in the air -- sadly, it had happened to her before), startling when her hip bumped into something warm. She whipped her head around to see Niall’s grinning face.

“You scared me, you jerk! The driver didn't say anything about you being here,” she said as she hugged him, buckling herself in after.

“Asked him not to. Wanted to surprise ya. Happy Christmas,” he said, grinning at her in obvious delight.

“ _Merry_ Christmas to you, too,” she replied, emphasizing the “merry” as a jab in their ongoing debate about which was the proper way to wish someone a good holiday.

“Wanna do presents right away?” Niall asked with all the eagerness of a small child, choosing not to further engage in their argument. “I mean, not like now, in the car, but when we get home? Or are ya too tired?”

“Never too tired for gifts! So yeah, that sounds good. Perfect, even.” That way she’d have less time to stress about whether he would like what she’d gotten him.

True to his word, Niall didn’t mess around. After they were dropped off at his house, he helped Kat bring her luggage in, got her a drink, and made sure she wasn’t hungry (she finally just had him grab some chips to get him off her back -- he’d been very quietly watchful of her food intake since discovering her eating disorder, which she understood and appreciated, even if it sometimes frustrated her) as rapidly as he could without rushing her. All the needed tasks completed and the refreshments waiting for them in the living room, it was gift time and they both went to get their presents, flashing smiles at each other as they parted.

In her room, Kat double checked to make sure nothing had broken during the flight (as far as she could tell, it was all good, thank God) and nervously fluffed some tissue paper before lugging the main present out by itself, needing two hands to carry it. 

Niall’s eyes lit up when he saw the size of the gift bag, and after she’d carefully set it down next to him (with a quick “no peeking!”) and went to go get the other one, he was positively beside himself, realizing there was more. Despite his obvious excitement, he called out to her -- without conviction -- that it looked like she’d gotten him too much, although Kat promised that it wasn’t as much as it looked like.

Niall insisted on starting, putting a beautifully wrapped box on her lap pretty much the second she sat down.

“This is your real gift, other one’s just silly little stuff.”

Kat gasped when she opened the box. The brand had been imprinted on the lid but she’d chosen to ignore it, not putting it past him to jokingly use a designer box to throw her off.

He’d gotten her a purse. Not just any purse: a beautiful, deep red, wine colored Louis Vuitton purse, somewhat similar in style to Sophia’s Yves Saint Laurent bag. Which Kat had coveted so much that she’d mentioned it to Niall, telling him how she’d looked online to find out where to buy one and been shocked to discover that it cost almost as much as her car. 

And now she feared the LV purse Niall had given her probably cost even more than Sophia’s, judging by its size and appearance.

So, yeah, Kat loved it. She'd be scared she'd damage or lose it every time she carried it anywhere but she loved it just the same.

“Was gonna get ya the same one as Soph, since I knew ya liked that one, but my assistant said that was no good, ya had to have one that was just yours, so she found me a bunch that looked kinda like it. What’s kinda funny is that this one is actually called the Sofia Coppola, so another Sofia. Never looked at so many purses in me life, but I liked this one the best, is it okay?”

“Okay? Niall, it’s the most beautiful piece of leather I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s gorgeous. I want to marry it and have its babies. This is way too much, you really shouldn’t have done this.” She pet the bag lovingly as she talked to him, mesmerized by its softness. 

“Kat, it’s not too much. You deserve it, look how much ya love it already.”

“I do, thank you so much.” Despite her excitement over the purse, she sighed, worrying about how her gifts would look in comparison to this. “I knew I should have went first, my gifts aren’t anywhere near this level.”

“Kat, I’m sure they’re great. It’s not about how much things cost.”

“I used to think that until someone gave me a purse I’d sell my soul for,” she said, making Niall laugh. Keeping her bag on her lap, nice and safe, she scooched his gift over in front of him.

She gave him her big present first, since that's the way he had done it. It was a large gift bag filled with wrapped packages, each numbered. Really _really_ hoping he liked it, Kat watched as he ripped off the paper, then the layers of bubble wrap and tissue paper cushioning each item.

It was a series of framed pictures, in a variety of sizes, all of Niall and the other members of One Direction, from across the years. The most recent ones were largely candid shots, taken by Cal Aurand, the photographer touring with the band, who'd also helped her track down the digital files and licenses to print some of her favorite older shots that she'd found on Tumblr. Kat had also framed a couple she’d taken herself, on her own camera, and while they were nowhere near as good as the professional photos, she loved them because they showed moments that others typically weren't privy to.

One of the first things Kat had noticed about Niall’s house were the numerous framed pictures hung on the walls -- pictures of his band, as well as some of his favorite musical artists -- but it was clear that he hadn't updated the personal ones in some time (likely because he’d been kinda busy touring the world). So Kat’s gift idea had been to do it for him, although these new additions differed from the types of posed shots that currently adorned his home; instead she’d selected more casual, intimate photos as she felt they better captured the strong bonds and love so evident between all of the guys. 

Niall was mostly silent as he opened each frame, laying them all out beside each other in the order Kat had wrapped them, until he got to the last one. It was one of Cal’s photos, taken fairly recently, with the five guys lounging backstage before a concert, Kat with them. In the picture, she was curled up under Liam's arm, Niall’s chin resting on her shoulder, as they all laughed at something Louis had said. 

Niall finally spoke, his voice hoarse, “Kat, this is amazing, just perfect. Thank you so much.”

“You're welcome. Cal helped a lot too, obviously, so he deserves a lot of the credit.”

“You put it all together, though. I really love it.”

“Know how much you like your memorabilia. I love photos too so it was a fun project,” Kat said, delighted her gift had gone over so well. 

He looked at the last picture again quietly for a second, then turned his face towards her, nodding at her bag. “Set down your fiancé there and come give me a hug, alright?”

Without hesitation, Kat laid her purse beside her and tucked herself into Niall’s arms. He gripped her tight, rubbing his hands over her back for a long while, before giving her a soft kiss on the head and whispering another “thank you” into her ear.

He finally pulled back, all business once more. “Okay, now the other gift. Know it looks big but it’s just a bunch of little stuff. Me mam and da’s pressies for ya are in there too.”

“Did you get my parents’ gift?” They’d insisted on sending it to him rather than letting Kat bring it with her, so they’d sent it in early December to make sure he got it in time.

“I did, really thoughtful of ‘em. Or thoughtful of your mam, I guess. Sure Mike had nothin’ to do with it.”

“Very true. I’m sure he has no idea what it even was. Just like with my gifts for every birthday and Christmas since I was born,” she said wryly. “But I’ll be sure to pass along that it arrived safely.”

Niall’s not-so-small gift for her turned out to be a basket filled with a collection of random stuff that had Kat puzzled at first. A cool wooden speaker for her phone, an iTunes gift card (from Bobby and Aofie), a soft sided cooler that its packaging boasted would fit in her golf bag, a super soft and snuggly blanket she immediately wrapped around herself, binoculars, and … a Planisphere? Which was this rotating circular laminated thing that, according to what was written on it, was supposed to help you find the stars and constellations. 

Suddenly it clicked and Kat’s face lit up. “A star watching kit, right? I love it! This is so thoughtful and clever, Niall, thank you!”

“There's a little something else in there too, at the bottom.”

Kat dug around in the tissue paper and found a rectangular package, tucked inside were two smaller boxes. The first held a silver locket with a star design etched onto the front. “It's beautiful,” she said quietly, beaming at Niall who was biting his nails -- a clear sign of his nerves -- as he watched her. She pried open the locket, finding a picture of her sisters on one side and one of her and Niall on the other. She touched both photos with the tip of her pointer finger, smiling softly.

“Figured ya needed a picture of the two of us in there for now,” Niall said, his voice jarring her out of her intent focus on the necklace.

“Totally. I love it.” She opened the other small box, finding another necklace in there, this one a tiny star on a silver chain from the jewelry company Dogeared. The message on the card read:  
_Make a wish and put on your necklace. Life is a journey. As you travel through it, keep an eye on the north star. It's the brightest one in the sky! Wear your necklace as a reminder that it's always there to help you find your way. ___

“They said you could wear them together, like, layered? The one you just opened is from me mam and Chris, actually. She went shoppin’ with me, needed some help in the jewelry store. ‘Specially after mostly figurin’ out the purse meself.”

“Well, you and Maura did excellently, I love them both so much. So so much. Here, help me put them on?” She handed them over and put her back towards him. After much fumbling (and a bit of cursing), Niall managed to get both necklaces latched around her neck, lightly touching the clasps where they lay on the back of her neck once he was done. Kat tried to suppress the slight shiver that she felt pass through her at his delicate touch, turning so he could see them on her.

“Look great,” he said thickly, then cleared his throat. “Can I open my other one now?”

Niall loved the Boss shirt. Kat had also tucked a smaller framed picture of the two of them in there, which she’d stressed about, but the locket he’d given her made her glad she’d included it. Now they both had a photo of them together.

Kat was helping Niall shove all the torn up wrapping and tissue paper in a trash bag when Niall said, “Oh, almost forgot. There’s a check from management in the purse, like a Christmas bonus for ya.”

“No way.” Kat picked up the purse again, zipping it open for the first time. She hadn’t gotten around to doing so before, she’d been so enamored with the outside of the thing. She found a coordinating wallet tucked inside and cocked an eyebrow at Niall. “You got me a wallet too, Niall? Way way too much.”

He made a dismissive motion with his hand, waving away her comment. “Look inside that, then.”

Kat did.

“Whoa.”

“Yeah?” Niall asked.

“Whoa.” Kat felt numb, staring at the check. She’d never expected to see any money for what she was doing, it was more than enough that she wouldn’t have to pay her student loans. When they’d started paying her rent, she’d been beside herself with happiness, knowing that without that to stress about, she’d be in a great position once her contract ended, even if it still took her awhile to find a real job. 

Now to get this check, for $5,000, completely out of the blue. Kat felt like crying. Partly because she’d pretty much never had that much money that wasn’t already earmarked for some unfun necessity. And partly because it felt really messed up that she was getting all this money for doing something that wasn’t a job at all, as though she hadn’t had some of the best times of her life with Niall. 

As though she wasn’t completely smitten with the man they were paying her to be with.

*

Not surprisingly, celebrating New Year’s Eve in London with Niall was epic. They went to a party at a bar that had professional photographers working the room, taking pictures all over the place whenever people requested them (not unlike some of Kat’s sorority’s functions), so the bar was able to get away with banning cameras and camera phones for the night.

So while Kat and Niall were photographed heading into the party, the bar’s no camera policy once inside meant that Niall and his group could cut loose without worrying nearly so much about photographic evidence getting out. Kat had totally taken advantage of it, having beer then champagne then a gin and tonic and so on, so much that large portions of the night were foggy. 

And she woke up the next day feeling every single one of those drinks.

Kat heard a quiet knock on the door, although in her weakened state, it still sounded much too loud. “Yeah?” she managed to grunt out, not wanting Niall to think she was dead or anything. She painfully turned her head towards the doorway, still laying on her side/stomach but glancing down to be sure she was covered up.

He cracked the door and popped his head in, looking altogether not hungover in the slightest. “How ya feelin’?”

She didn’t mince words. “Like fucking death. How are you standing up?”

He shrugged. “I don’t really get too hungover, most of the time. Lucky like that.”

“Well, I hate you.” 

He came in and sat on the edge of her bed and Kat was so sick, so exhausted that she couldn’t even begin to care about how rough she must look at the moment -- she hadn’t taken off her makeup last night so her mascara was no doubt all over the place and her hair was probably sticking up everywhere. And God, what must her breath be like? Kat groaned slightly at the thought.

“What can I do to help? Sorry you’re feelin’ so poorly,” he asked, rubbing his hand on her back. Which felt nice, the soft fabric of the duvet sliding over her bare skin.

Her bare skin. Because she was apparently, at the very least, sleeping with no top on. And quite likely with no pants either. 

Completely lacking any ability to be subtle, Kat rolled slightly so she was fully onto her side and lifted up the blankets so she could peek underneath without Niall being able to see.

Yep, totally naked.

She smashed her eyes shut, hoping with everything in her that she’d gotten herself into bed the night before without any help from Niall. Keeping her eyes closed, she asked, “Hey, just askign out of pure curiosity, but how exactly did I get into bed last night?”

Kat could feel his shrug. “Fuck if I know. Pretty sure we demolished a pizza together in the kitchen and then we both went our separate ways. There was a trail of clothes leading into your room though, so I’m kinda sorry I missed the show. Ya starkers under there?”

Well, that wasn’t so bad. “Totally. I’ll pick up my shit, I’m sorry, but probably not until way later. I don’t think I’m going to be moving much today. But you’ve gotta go right now, I have to pee super bad and maybe, probably, almost definitely, vomit. So you don’t want to be here for that.” 

Niall gave her a concerned look. “Okay, I’ll leave ya in peace. But I’ll be back to check in at some point, okay?”

He shut the door silently and Kat closed her eyes again, everything hurting, trying to physically and mentally prepare herself to dash to the toilet.

This was NOT an auspicious start to the new year.

*

Kat was actually awake and staring at the ceiling the next time Niall knocked at her door. She’d thrown up a few times, but managed to keep down a couple of Tylenol and sleep for a few hours so she felt slightly better. Maybe.

“Come in.” She wished she’d had the energy to brush her teeth or do something with herself, but the best she’d managed was to splash some water on her face and swish a bit of mouthwash around after her last puking session. 

“Not lookin’ all that much better, I see.” He leaned against the doorframe, smiling over at her. 

“I’m alive. But not particularly happy about it at the moment. Having a productive day?” She noted that he’d gotten showered and dressed since she’d seen him last and her super sensitive hungover nose told her that he’d even been outside recently. He smelled like fresh air and sunshine. Both of which sounded terrible to Kat.

“Can’t say I’ve been overly productive but ‘m doin’ much better than you, that much is sure.” 

“Thanks for rubbing it in.” Kat attempted to sit up, figuring it was the absolute least she could do to pretend to be human while Niall was being nice enough to make sure she was still breathing. She managed to get somewhat upright, making sure the robe she was wearing wasn’t gaping and showing off the goods. Motioning towards it, she said, “I always thought it was hilarious that you had this robe here, like it’s a legit hotel suite instead of a guest room but I’m super glad you do now. I couldn’t stomach the thought of actually pulling on real clothes so this is perfect. So thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Looks good on ya.” He shot her a smile, then squared his shoulders, looking like he was bracing for a fight. “Don’t think you’re going to be thankin’ me much for this next bit, but I think it’s necessary.”

Kat eyed him warily. “Oh no, what're you planning, Horan? In case it isn’t perfectly obvious, I’m pretty miserable right now.”

“I know. But here me out: I think you’ll feel better after ya get clean, I know I always do.” He put his hand up, forestalling any argument she might try to make. “But I figured ya aren’t up for standing in a shower for very long, so I ran ya a bubble bath. In my big tub, which never gets used. I’ve seen ya eying it before, so now’s your chance to use it.”

Kat slumped down in the bed, knowing his idea had merit but feeling too exhausted to contemplate the trip across the house to get to Niall’s bathroom. Even just getting up sounded like too much work when she felt so shitty. 

“As an incentive, I went and got ya a fountain Coke. Know how much ya love those. And some plain crisps. Seems to be what ya favor when you’re feelin’ poorly.”

Kat felt like she was going to cry. “Oh my God, Niall, that is the sweetest thing ever.” And then, because she was an exhausted, sick mess, she actually was crying. 

“For fuck’s sake, Kat, it’s just a fizzy drink, just wanted to make ya feel better. Ya okay?” He was suddenly by her side, pulling her into a one-armed hug. 

Kat cried harder. “I’m so gross, Niall, don’t touch me,” she blubbered into the front of his shirt, completely contradicting her words as she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into him. 

“You’re alright, petal, you’re alright,” he murmured, running his hand over her head, scratching lightly at her scalp.

Being incredibly dehydrated, Kat’s tears didn’t last all that long and soon enough, Niall was tugging her out of bed, giving her his sunglasses to put on so the sunlight streaming into his living room wouldn’t bother her as much (he’d seriously thought of everything), and leading her into his bathroom where a full bubble bath in his gorgeous freestanding tub awaited her.

Niall stuck his hand into the water. “I ran it pretty hot so it should still be good. Figured it might take me a bit to get ya in here. And your drink is sittin’ right there, figured the food should wait, sound good?” He’d pulled in a chair to use as a makeshift table next to the bath to set her drink on.

“Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you so much, Niall, this is amazing.” He nodded and turned to leave but Kat’s words stopped him. “Um, this might be weird, but would you mind staying and talking to me for a little bit? I’m kind of lonely and obviously feeling more than a little sorry for myself. I’m the biggest baby about being hungover.”

“I can do that. Want me to turn around so you can get in?”

“That’d be great, unless you want the least sexy strip tease ever,” she teased. Niall didn’t respond, but she noticed his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed before he turned around. 

Kat dropped the robe and stepped into the tub, gasping slightly as her foot hit the warm water. 

“Too hot still?” Niall called over his shoulder.

“No, it’s great. Just felt warmer because of the contrast to the bubbles. It’s perfect,” Kat reassured him as she settled in, leaning back with a sigh. “Absolutely perfect. You can turn around now, all safely covered.”

Niall came and sat in the chair he’d placed near the tub, first picking up the cup and holding it out to her. She took it from him gratefully and hurriedly placed the straw in her mouth, suddenly feeling quite desperate for a drink. She groaned as she took her first drink. 

“Oh my God, this tastes amazing. Niall Horan, you’re an absolute saint, the best friend ever.”

Niall shifted in his seat, slouching down somewhat as though trying to get comfortable. “I wouldn’t go that far, but you’re very welcome. Feelin’ better already?”

“Absolutely.”

They sat and talked for a long time, laughing about the events of the night before. She double checked a few of her memories with him -- she knew (well, she thought she knew) she'd kissed Niall at midnight, which was fine as it was expected, but was pretty sure she'd also kissed everyone in their group, girls and guys both, after the countdown to the new year, all of it fairly innocent. Just quick pecks to celebrate it now being 2015. At least that was how she remembered it. 

Niall confirmed, thankfully, assuring her that she’d been completely fine. And again, no camera phones to worry about so no evidence, despite what any of the other guests might have seen them get up to.

Kat lounged back for awhile with her eyes closed, then, as she felt increasingly better, she sat more upright, knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, although she continued to alternate between the two positions. She couldn’t remember when she’d felt so relaxed and, once the nausea had faded, so content and happy. 

She’d just laid back once again, complaining about how she didn’t want to have to wash her hair or do any of the actual required bathing activities and teasing Niall that maybe he’d just have to do it for her. She cracked open her eyes to see why he hadn’t responded to her joke, not that it had been all that hilarious but he was usually at least good for a courtesy chuckle.

He seemed lost in thought, staring intently into the distance, until he noticed her looking at him. “Okay, I’ll leave ya to it. Give a shout if ya need anything. Towels are right there.” Niall slapped his knees and stood up, walking briskly into his room and closing the door behind him. 

Kat relaxed for a moment longer before sliding under the water, getting her hair wet. She had to give it to Niall, he was absolutely right: she felt immensely better and was sure to improve after she got some greasy food in her stomach. A bath was just what the doctor ordered. 

Coming back above water, Kat reached for the shampoo on the wooden bath tray that was balanced across the tub, down near her feet. As she did so, she suddenly noticed that there weren’t really all that many bubbles anymore as sometime in the last half hour, or however long she’d been in there, the majority of them must have popped or melted into the water. There’d still been a fair amount around her face, so Kat hadn’t really noticed, but the middle of the tub was pretty dang bare. 

As she lathered up her hair, Kat had a momentary panic about just what exactly Niall had been able to see from where he was sitting but she was comforted by noting the relatively high sides of the tub. And he’d been sitting up by her head, so even if there hadn’t been any real bubble coverage over her midsection, he likely couldn’t have seen anything from that angle anyway. 

Kat had more important things to think about, anyway. Like what kind of unhealthy takeout they should order for dinner.

*

Back at home a couple weeks later, Kat was almost done with her stint as a substitute teacher and, at the risk of seeming arrogant, she knew she was killing it. She only had two more days to get through, then she was off to Australia to meet up with Niall and the guys again for the start of the next tour.

During the kids’ free play time after she'd read them a story, Kat was busy organizing the classroom’s library of early reader books, when the quiet chatter of the children suddenly kicked up about eight notches near the doorway. Kat slid the last two books into place and pushed herself up from the floor, ready to regulate whatever was setting them off and get the room back under control. 

Her brow furrowed in confusion when she realized that standing in the doorway was the school’s principal, and she wasn't alone. Standing by her side was a high school-aged kid with a dslr camera around his neck and … a man with a video camera, bustling into the room and setting up his tripod in a corner, so the camera was pointing towards the door? Kat barely had a second to really try to figure out what the hell was going on (maybe one of the kids had a parent that was in the military and they were home on leave and had shown up at school to surprise them? Kat knew she’d bawl if that was the case, she always cried when she’d seen such reunions on TV) when her attention was drawn back to the door…

Just in time to see Niall walk through, guitar case in one hand and a small bouquet of flowers in the other, a bashful half smile on his face as his eyes sought and found Kat standing in the rear of the classroom. 

“Hey,” he said to her, and then something else that was drowned out by the shouting and clatter of 20 five and six year olds, trying to get the attention of the room’s special guest. Kat put her hand over her mouth, hiding the enormous smile that she couldn’t seem to stop from forming as Niall was swarmed by her students, while the principal tried -- and failed -- to get them back under control. 

Kat sincerely doubted that the majority of the kids even knew who he was (although she had been asked about him by a few kids in the class, as well as other students when she’d been on recess duty, so there certainly were children that age that were aware of One Direction and its members) and that their excitement over his appearance was more to do with the cameras and the fact that he had a guitar. Plus, any guest tended to rile them up -- the janitor had gotten a somewhat similar reception a couple of days prior when he brought in a new recycling bin for the room. Ah, kindergartners. 

Wanting to help Principal Geist out, Kat made her way over to the cluster, catching bits and pieces of the questions and comments the students were throwing at Niall, who looked slightly overwhelmed but amused by the attention he was getting.

Never mind the questions.

“Are those flowers for Miss Hamilton?” 

“Can you pick me up?” 

“Are you guys gonna get marry?”

“My dad has a guitar!” 

“I have a cut on my knee, do you want to see it?”

“Does Harry have a girlfriend?” 

“Kindergartners,” Kat called out in her best teacher voice, which had improved greatly over the last seven days, “can we all find our seats and get out our crayons? I need each of you to find a red and blue crayon for me, do you all think you can do that?”

Once the children were on their way to accomplish that exciting task, Kat found herself face to face with Niall and she struggled not to blush as she felt the watchful eyes of Principal Geist on them, never mind knowing that they were being filmed and photographed. With a smile, Kat raised her eyebrows, looking between Niall and Dr. Geist. “This is a surprise!”

Niall snagged her hand and pulled her over to his side, pressing a quick kiss to her temple that had the closest table of kids going “ooooh” before Kat shushed them with a laugh. “Hi,” she said to him, smiling up at him as it finally sunk in that he was there, in her temporary classroom, on a visit he must have coordinated with the school. 

“Hi,” he replied, his mouth quirking up in a half smile. “Wanted to come see where you’ve been workin’ and when I spoke to Dr. Geist here about it on the phone to make sure it was allowed, she asked if it would be okay if I sang a couple of songs for the kids and if she invited a bit of the media. Which was fine by me, although I know you can get a bit shy ‘bout stuff like that, so I made ‘em promise to mostly focus on me and not you.” He winked over at the man operating the video camera, who promptly blushed so hard Kat thought his face might ignite.

She knew the feeling.

“These are for you,” Niall said, handing her the flowers.

She sniffed them. “Thanks, they’re pretty. So sweet of you. And not that I’m complaining as it’s great to have to here, but I thought you’d be on your way to Australia right now?”

He shook his head. “Changed me plans. Figured this way we could fly together, too long of a flight to go by yourself. Will be more fun with company.” 

Kat kept her composure, knowing that to any sane adult, “fun on a plane” with one’s significant other didn’t sound innocent in the slightest, but she was at work and she was a professional. And she was standing in front of a woman that had the power to give her a job next year, so she wasn’t going to ruin that chance by sniggering at an innuendo-filled comment that Niall had perhaps not even intentionally made.

She looked over at him to respond, seeing the twinkle in his eye and knowing that he absolutely, 100% meant for it to sound dirty. Jerk. “That’s sweet of you,” she repeated stupidly, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

Dr. Geist helped her out. “Niall agreed to sing a couple of songs for the kindergarteners, all three sections, in the multipurpose room, here in,” she looked at her watch, “10 minutes. So if you'd like to get your students together, your class gets the front row!” With a quick wave to the students, she was gone, both camera men trailing behind her.

“Good surprise?” Niall asked Kat, who hadn't moved. 

She shook herself. “Yes, the best! Can't believe you agreed to do this! Such good publicity for the school. Dr. Geist is positively giddy, although I know it's hard to tell with her.”

He smiled but shrugged off her compliment. “Not a big deal.”

It _was_ fairly low key, as far as performances go, and the news people only interviewed Niall and the principal. It all went smoothly, Niall singing adorably to the children, a mix of One Direction songs and requests from the kids, everything from Katy Perry to “Row Row Row Your Boat.” He had the kids sing along as much as possible, and even coaxed a vocally talented teacher into dueting with him. Likely the teachers had enjoyed the show as much as or more than the kids, but Kat was pretty sure they’d all had a good time.

Kat certainly had, as she really hadn’t gotten to hear only Niall’s voice singing for entire songs before, and she hung on his every lyric. She’d worked very hard not to have a soppy look on her face the whole time, but judging from the laughing looks she got afterwards from the other teachers, she hadn’t entirely been successful.

*

Two days later (one of which was entirely spent in the air, where Niall had jokingly asked if Kat was interested in joining the mile high club to make the time pass more quickly, to which Kat had rolled her eyes), and they were in Melbourne, Australia, moved into a beautiful home that Niall had rented for them for a couple of weeks. They had come down earlier than the rest of the band as Niall loved the country so much and had friends and relatives from home that lived there. The plan was for Niall and Kat to meet up with the band in Sydney for rehearsals at the start of February.

Before that, though, it was just the two of them, so, of course, they went to a variety of sporting events like they typically did when Niall got to decide their schedule: tennis (which Kat suffered through although there was alcohol so it wasn’t so bad); cricket (which was new to Kat and surprisingly fun to watch); and golf. They managed to play a lot of golf themselves as well, so they weren’t merely spectators the entire time.

Overall, it was a fun, stress-free time: some much needed relaxation for Niall and a chance to explore a beautiful new country and meet new people for Kat. They got along easily, no signs at all of their earlier animosity towards each other, nor any real tension of the sexual sort, besides a few jokes here and there from Niall.

One evening before they were going to meet some of Niall’s friends for dinner, Niall had his guitar out, messing around on it while relaxing on the couch, waiting for Kat to change and get ready. 

From her bedroom, with the door cracked open, Kat could hear him pretty clearly. When she recognized what he was playing, she shouted the title down the hall, and it quickly became a game, as she tried to figure out each song title as quickly as possible. She was doing great, although it significantly slowed her getting ready process. 

“‘More Than Words,’” she yelled out, pausing a moment when she was doing her eyebrows. A moment later, “‘Layla,’” then “‘Fast Car!’” She heard Niall laughing in the other room as he slid into yet another song.

Pulling her dress over her head, she called out a muffled “‘Under the Bridge,” which he clearly heard as he switched songs immediately after. And she knew that one as well. “‘Stand by Me!’”

When Kat finally walked into the condo’s living room, he was playing a song that had her stumped momentarily, then it clicked. “Ah, ‘Send Me on My Way’ by Rusted Root!” she crowed.

“You’re good at that game, thought I finally had ya beat.” Niall grinned at her, clearly pleased by her skill. He set down his guitar as she plopped onto the couch beside him, still needing to put in her earrings. Niall jiggled his leg while he waited, glancing quickly over at her, then away just as fast, several times.

Kat scrunched her brow, sliding a hoop into her ear. “Hey, what’s going on with you lately? You’re just about twitching out of your skin. I mean, you’re always antsy but it’s, like, amplified lately.”

“Dunno,” he said with a shrug, not meeting her eyes. “Maybe I’m just missing the tour, bein’ on the road? Not used to down time.”

That made sense to Kat so she left it. But it still stuck in her mind because while she bought what he was saying, she wasn’t sure _he_ actually believed it. 

She pointedly changed the subject, moving on to a story about her sisters that her mom had told her the day before when they’d spoke, hoping to distract Niall from whatever was going through his brain and make him more comfortable. 

But she stopped talking when she realized that Niall quite obviously wasn’t listening to her. It wasn’t the most riveting story in the world, sure, but he could at least pretend to be interested. She was about to chew him out for his lack of attention when she looked at him a bit closer. 

And found he was staring at her mouth, his eyes hazy and his bottom lip between his teeth.

_Oh._

Kat quickly looked away, got up and grabbed her purse, turning back towards him. “Should we go?” she asked, her voice falsely cheery. “Don’t want to be late!” She wasn’t exactly sure what that was all about but there was no way she was going to ask him and get into it. 

In fact, Kat decided then and there she was going to just try to forget it ever happened -- forget that _all_ of these things kept happening, at least for a bit. Although her brain desperately wanted to connect the clues regarding Niall’s behavior and the most obvious reason for it, she wasn’t going to think about it. Because she didn’t want to think about what it meant, about what he might be thinking, about what he might want.

Not yet.

Not when she had no idea what _she_ wanted.

*

Eventually, Kat had to face the truth: she was fairly certain that -- despite their earlier decision to keep their relationship sex-free -- something had shifted, and now Niall wanted to sleep with her, and would, in fact, sleep with her if she wanted to.

Well, more accurately, if she let him know that she wanted to. Because she did want to sleep with him. 

Obviously.

But while Kat was certain that she did _want_ to sleep with him, she still wasn’t sure if she _should_. She just didn’t know if she was up for something casual with him. As once this thing was over -- and it would be over, quite soon; the end of April and thus the end of her contract a few months away -- she'd see him forever, everywhere, for a long time: on TV, in magazines, etc. Which would suck. 

And, more importantly, there was something about Niall, something about who he was and how he made her feel, that Kat worried would get under her skin. Even though she’d done friends with benefits things before, or had people she’d hooked up with randomly without catching feelings, she didn’t think that was how it would be with Niall. That maybe “casual” wouldn't be a real option for her when it came to him. 

Kat kept their schedule packed after that whole staring at her mouth thing he’d done, knowing that free time was her enemy at this point, both of them so exhausted by the end of each day that they went to bed (each in their own room) early every night. 

Once they relocated to Sydney to join the rest of the band there, it became easier to stay away from Niall. And, in case that by itself wasn’t enough, she kept herself as busy as possible at their rehearsals, trying to never be alone, so as not to allow herself time to think about it all.

She was so focused on Niall and keeping her distance from him that Kat hadn’t really considered that what she was doing would be obvious to anyone else.

Looking for someone to talk to during the second day of rehearsals, Kat headed backstage. She eventually found Harry, although she immediately regretted it when he popped to his feet and began singing “What’s New, Pussycat?” to her, complete with swinging hip thrusts, the minute she walked into the room.

“Jesus. Thanks but no thanks,” Kat said, laughing as she sat on the couch he’d been relaxing on. It was just the two of them in the smallish room, furnished with comfy seating. “How long have you been waiting to do that?”

“Too long.” He dropped onto the cushion next to her with a proud grin on his face, then looked at her closely, his expression turning serious as he focused on her. “Seems like you've been avoiding Niall.” 

When Kat had thought she’d caught him watching her the day before, she’d tried to dismiss it as paranoia, but he just confirmed she’d been right. Rats.

She squirmed uncomfortably but answered him. “Kinda.”

“Why? Ya know he doesn't expect anythin’ of ya.”

“I know. But I think, I mean, it seems like, anyway, that …” Kat stumbled over her words, not sure how to word it.

“He wants to sleep with ya?” he said bluntly, clearly not having the same problem.

There didn’t seem to be any sense in being coy about it. “Well, yeah.”

“He’d never push ya or anything, he's not that kind of guy.”

Kat shook her head immediately. “Oh God, I know that. It's not him I don't trust, it's me.”

“So you want to sleep with him too?” Harry asked.

She gave him a look.

He laughed. “Well, I know ya used to but I didn't know ya still did.”

“I do. I so do. I just worry that if I do, if we do, I'm just setting myself up for pain down the road,” she sighed, glad to have someone to talk to about all this. “Plus, what if he thinks I’m terrible in bed? He’s been with all these famous people.”

“Now I don’t know this for sure, of course, but I’d imagine that famous people, in general -- our band excepted -- aren’t particularly good in bed. Because they think people should just be honored that they’re havin’ sex with them, full stop, so they don’t feel like they have anythin’ to prove or whatever.”

“Thanks, Harry. Now you're really making me want to sleep with him,” she said dryly.

“Did ya miss the part where I said ‘our band excepted’? Because I’m absolutely positive our Niall’s a tiger in the sack.”

“Absolutely positive?” Kat teased.

Harry nodded, his eyes twinkling. “I honestly have complete confidence. And I’m almost as certain that you hold your own as well. So enough of that self doubt bullshit.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but did you miss the part about me feeling like sleeping with him is just going to make things hurt more later? We both know Niall isn’t going to fall in love with me, no matter how magical I am in bed, and I’m going to be devastated by this whole thing when my contract’s up.”

“Won’t ya be devastated anyway, whether you sleep with him or not?”

Kat started to reply, then stopped, suddenly realizing the truth in Harry’s question.

He used her silence as a chance to continue. “And who’s to say it won’t turn into something more? Sure, he’s not been interested in dating in the past but anything can happen. Just don’t go into this thinking that it will, or _then_ , then you’d be setting yourself up for hurt.”

“Okay, you have a point. Er, _some_ points. But what am I supposed to do? It’s perfectly clear I’m interested. Or it was, anyway, before I started freaking out. I can’t just scream ‘love me’ at him like a pathetic fool. That works in Ed Sheeran songs but not anywhere else. And before you start, I’m using the word ‘love’ in a very general sense, I’m not actually in love with him.”

Harry rolled his eyes before lightly swatting the back of her head. “Quit thinkin’ so much. Just get him naked.”

*

Later that day, Kat was talking to Harry’s other half when she remembered that there was a question she’d been dying to ask him. It had taken her way too long to get around to realizing it, but at some point she had noted that none of the other fake couples in the band seemed to kiss nearly as much as she and Niall did.

But as she didn’t want to just ask about it outright, she danced around the topic, finding the perfect opportunity when Louis was grousing about Eleanor coming to visit soon. “I know you don’t like her, but after all this time, isn’t it kind of no big deal anymore, pretending she’s your girlfriend? God, at this point, as long as Eleanor’s been around, you two have probably kissed a hundred times, what’s another couple smooches?” Kat asked, both teasing him and fishing for information at the same time.

Louis snorted. “Are ya jokin’? We’ve kissed maybe half a dozen times, total. And not in forever, I honestly can’t stomach it and they quit tryin’ to force me after awhile. Said it looked too fake, anyway.”

“Shut up.” Kat was flabbergasted. 

“I’m bein’ completely honest with ya. And before you can ask, I’d guess Zayn and Perrie have kissed even less and Liam and Sophia probably about the same as me and El, maybe a bit more if you’re countin’ little pecks. Liam’s a better sport about it all, he gives it his best most of the time.”

“At least more than you do, not that that’s saying much,” Kat teased, pinching his side. Louis squirmed away and then grabbed both of her arms, pinning them by her sides before lunging in and blowing a raspberry on her neck, making her squeal.

Once he’d quite tormenting her, he sat back and resumed their conversation. “And in theory, yeah, I don’t really care about it, but it’s tirin’, always havin’ to have her around and pretend that I care about her. Just gets old.”

Kat sobered instantly, feeling terrible. In her dogged pursuit of information about the other fake couples, she’d inadvertently been cruel and dismissive of what Louis was going through. “Of course it does, I’m so sorry, that was incredibly insensitive of me to imply it wasn’t hard for you. The whole situation is colossally unfair and I really hate that all of you have to hide who you are and who you love.”

Louis put his arm around her, shaking his head with a smile. “I wasn’t tryin’ to make ya feel bad, I know what ya meant, no worries. And since I know what you were _really_ askin’ about, yes, you and Neil are the undisputed kiss champs. No one even comes close. ‘Course that might be because the two of you are so bleedin’ hot for each other that you’re ‘bout ready to combust. I’ve practically got second-hand blue balls from just seein’ the way Niall stares at ya.”

Kat gave him a dirty look, then tipped her head and turned towards the door like she’d heard something, putting her hand up to her ear in an over-exaggerated manner. “Think they’re calling you, Lou. They clearly need you out there, don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Louis’ laughter rang out as he gave in to her obvious request to leave, darting away from her and jogging backwards for a moment so she could see him quickly grab his crotch, raising his eyebrows at her at the same time. Kat rolled her eyes but giggled, laughing despite herself.

*

With both Louis and Harry’s words ringing in her ears, Kat found herself closely watching Niall that afternoon, intently focusing on everything he did, no matter how mundane it was. She watched him interact with a variety of people, noticing the way he could never sit still, his legs or his hands always moving -- jiggling his leg, scratching his arm or his hair, chewing at his fingernails, tapping his foot, fiddling with a water bottle he was holding. As if for the first time, she saw the way his eyes zeroed in on whomever he was talking to, like they were the only person in the world that mattered to him at that moment.

Under her attentive gaze, she saw the way he crossed his arms over his chest, tucking his hands under his armpits as he followed whatever conversation he was a part of. She loved how he would tip his head back and laugh with his whole body. Even just watching him from a distance, not able to hear what was so funny, Kat couldn’t help but grin at the sound of his cackle. 

She still hadn’t made a decision about what she wanted to do, nor did she have any real idea when she might know such a thing, but remembering exactly who Niall was as a person and why he was so incredible made her feel a lot more calm about whatever happened. 

Whether she slept with him or not, Niall would still be Niall. And that was a pretty fantastic thing.

That night, knowing that staying in would be good with the first show of the tour in a mere two days, Kat ordered pizza and forced Niall into watching “Hoosiers,” one of her favorite movies. It was based on a true story about a small town basketball team in the 1950s that, with a new coach that no one knew much about at the helm, made it all the way to the state finals, an impressive feat at a time when schools of all sizes played against one another. 

For the first 10 minutes of the movie, Niall made jokes and poked fun at the movie and the dialogue, but quickly enough, he was as involved in the story as Kat was. She glanced over at him midway through the movie, catching him reacting to a scene, narrowing his eyes in anger at the actions of one of the characters. 

And suddenly, in that tiny little moment, something clicked into place and Kat felt her doubts slip away, finally finding the clarity she'd been seeking. Harry had been right, she was going to be broken hearted regardless of whether anything further happened between them, so why not have some good sex memories to soothe her pain? 

Kat nudged him and he startled, so into the movie that he was caught off guard, like he’d forgotten she was even there. They both laughed at his reaction, then Niall’s gaze grew serious as they both continued to watch each other. Scooting closer to her on the couch, he carefully slid his hand under her hair, cupping the back of her neck, his eyes roving her face as he stroked her nape with the tips of his fingers. Kat smiled softly, letting him know she was right there with him. 

Niall began to lean into her, then pulled back and grabbed the remote, pausing the movie.

If she hadn’t been 100% decided before, now she was certain. Sleeping with Niall on a casual night in felt like the right way for this to happen, when they were just hanging out, just them, not influenced by alcohol or concert adrenaline or anything else.

Fueled by their attraction to each other and nothing more.

And then he was kissing her. Softly, sweetly, fairly chastely. Holding her face between his palms like she was delicate, fragile. He took his time, placing soft kisses onto her mouth, sliding their lips together again and again. When he finally touched his tongue to hers, she sighed, returning his caresses and letting herself fall into him bonelessly. 

And then, somewhat abruptly, it ignited, and he was basically fucking her mouth with his tongue and she was grabbing onto his hair with both hands as she kissed him back. Kat slid her hands to his chest, pulling on the front of his shirt and leaning back, until he was lying on top of her, nestled between her legs and she was bucking her hips into his and grinding onto him.

Her hands kept moving, slipping under his shirt and around to his back, digging her fingers into his soft skin as he kissed his way down her neck, dragging his teeth along her skin and making her shiver. 

While her mouth was finally unoccupied and she still had her wits about her, Kat knew she needed to make sure they were in complete agreement about what they were going to do. Pulling a quick breath, she closed her eyes and forced out the words. “Hold up, hold up, let's talk about this first. I really want to sleep with you, but we need to be clear about what we're doing and what it means.”

Niall was even more out of breath than Kat was as he lifted his head up and nodded, agreeing with her. “Yeah, that's smart, knew ya were smarter than me.”

“I don't know about that, but I think we like and respect each other enough to be able to do this without anyone getting their feelings hurt. It's just sex not a relationship, right? I don't want you to think that I think this makes anything more real, okay?”

“God, I seriously love ya. That's perfect.” He gave her another deep kiss. “C’mon, let's go to my room. Want some space so I can fully enjoy this.”

Kat got up to follow him when he grabbed her hand, pulling her after him. “Just a little pointer for when you’re entering into a casual sexual encounter: probably refrain from using the word ‘love,’ just to avoid any potential confusion.”

In front of her, Niall mumbled, “Yep, that’s smart.”

Kat yanked on his arm, forcing him to stop and look at her. “Also, if you fucking freak out about this tomorrow, I’m seriously going to chop off your balls. I cannot deal with another one of your hot and cold flashes.”

“It’s all hot right now, Kat, trust me -- not a bit of me is cold. And no freak outs, I promise ya. I’ve thought it all through and I’ve been ready for this for a long time now; I have no question this is what I want.”

Kat melted at his words but tried to stay strong. “It's just … we've tried this a couple of times and every time you regret it.”

His face dropped hearing the uncertainty in her voice. “I know, and I'm sorry ‘bout that. I’m just the kinda person that needs to be ready for somethin’ in my head, somethin’ big like this, long before I actually do it. Not so spontaneous, I guess, but helps me make good decisions when it matters.”

“So you think this, you and I sleeping together, is a good decision?”

Without hesitation he said, “Fuck yes I do.”

Kat smiled brightly. “Okay then.”

“Okay?” Niall repeated, eyes wide, like some part of him thought she was going to back out.

Instead of responding, Kat darted past him, running into his bedroom ahead of him. With a shout of laughter, he caught up to her before she could jump onto his bed, grabbing her from behind and swinging her around. He let her go and sat on edge of the bed as she turned towards him, laughing at his need to always win. Her laughter quickly faded as he took her hand in his again and tugged her towards him, his intent clear.

Standing in front of him, bracketed between his knees, Kat stole a glance at Niall’s hot gaze for some much-needed confidence and then she was pulling her shirt off before moving to straddle his hips. He wasted no time, pulling her down to kiss him while he worked the back clasp of her bra, unlatching it without much trouble. Niall pulled back to get a good look, his eyes lighting up at the view, then he had his hands on her naked breasts almost before her bra hit the floor, making Kat suck in a breath and arch her back into his touch.

After enjoying the dual sensations of his rough palms on the sensitive skin of her breasts while his warm mouth licked and nipped along her shoulders and collarbone for a few minutes, Kat needed to feel his skin under her own fingertips. When he kissed her mouth again, she slid her hands under his shirt, tracing up each side of his body, until she was forced to break away from his lips for a moment, just long enough to tug his shirt over his head, then she was yanking him back in. She gasped at the feeling of their bare chests pressed together for the first time, writhing her upper body against his and kissing him almost desperately. 

But even the thrill of finally being half naked with Niall quickly wasn’t enough and Kat moved on to the next obstacle between them. “Off, off,” she chanted, pulling at the waistband of his shorts, not having the patience to unbutton and unzip them herself.

“Slow down, we’ve got all night,” Niall said hoarsely, then drug his teeth lightly over her jawline before nipping at her earlobe.

Kat refused to be distracted, going for his fly with determination. “We’re dealing with nine months of foreplay at this point, I’m not slowing down, thank you very much. We can go slow next round.”

“I like how you’re thinkin’.” He quickly lifted her off his lap, plopping her back down beside him where she tumbled back onto the bed before catching herself on her elbows. He stood, and making easy work of the button and zip, he shucked his shorts and underwear in one quick move. 

And there he was, a completely nude Niall Horan standing in front of her, for her viewing pleasure.

There was a lot for Kat to take in. Not surprisingly, her eye was immediately drawn to his hard cock, pointing up towards his flat stomach and appearing altogether bigger than Kat had recalled from their brief hand-to-dick encounter the previous month. Also uncircumcised, which was a new experience for Kat, being from a part of the United States where circumcision was by far the norm. She continued to stare as Niall absentmindedly ran his left hand over his erection, fingers stroking in a loose grip, his own gaze roving over her body.

But before she could really process any of what she was seeing, Niall was moving, bending at the waist in front of her and sliding his hands around to her back, using his knees to scoot them into the center of the bed. Once there, he made a beeline for her shorts and flung them off, along with her underwear, almost as quickly as he’d escaped from his own.

That task finished, he kissed her, balancing himself on his forearms above her. Several dizzying kisses later, he asked, “‘M gonna go down on ya, that cool?”

Kat felt her stomach turn to complete goo at his words. “Oh my God, yes, that’s completely cool.”

He kissed his way down her torso, paying special attention to each part of her he passed until she was squirming under him, desperate for him to get to his destination.

And then he was there, his breath warm as he looked at her carefully, using his thumbs to hold her open. With no warning, he licked a fat stripe directly over her clit, making her buck up into his face unintentionally.

Her reaction not throwing him off at all, Niall moved with her and before she could apologize for basically fucking his face, he was back at it, wrapping his lips around her clit and sucking lightly, flicking his tongue against her at unexpected intervals, driving her insane. 

He continued to work away at her diligently until Kat couldn’t take another moment. She pushed up onto her elbows, looking down at him as she struggled to sit upright fully. “That feels amazing, but I want you in me. Now. Please,” she pleaded with him, her eyes almost crossing with lust when she saw just how sexy he looked between her legs.

He pressed his large hand onto her stomach, holding her down. “Let me make ya come first, in case ya don’t while we’re havin’ sex. Less pressure that way. For both of us. So lay back and try to relax.”

She collapsed onto the bed as he resumed what he’d been doing. “I wouldn’t -- oh my God, keep doing that, that feels amazing -- call this relaxing, exactly, not that I’m complaining.” 

Niall hummed against her, effectively shutting her up. When she was distracted by that, he slid two fingers into her, working them in and out of her body in perfect time with the pressure of his tongue and mouth on her clit. 

“Yes, yes, just like that. Keep doing that,” Kat sighed.

“You’re kind of bossy in bed, I like it,” Niall replied, his voice muffled.

“Well, that’s good,” she said, trying for levity. “But I -- oh God, that’s nice. I, I, I just want to warn you that sometimes it takes me quite a while.”

Niall lifted his head, raising his eyebrows as he did so. “Is that a challenge?”

“No, a caution. Just, ya know, information.”

“Don’t worry, I know what ‘m doin’.” And after a quick smirk, he went back to it, proving the truth of his statement.

What he said shouldn’t have been insanely hot -- if anything, it was a reminder that he’d probably done this with scads of other women -- but somehow, coming from Niall, it was. It didn’t hurt that his words were coupled with a demonstration of those very talents, which made it hard for Kat to care about his sexual experience.

She tried to take his advice and just lay back and enjoy -- which she absolutely did because he was amazing at what he was doing, knowing just how much pressure to apply and where to touch her to make her go crazy -- but as she got closer she found herself whispering little suggestions to him again, a “just like that” here and a “harder” there. 

Then, when she was almost completely delirious, she threw all subtlety aside, grabbing the hand he didn’t have inside her at the moment and placing it on her breast. He understood her unvoiced request and lightly rubbed a thumb across her nipple, which was all it took to push her over the edge. She arched her back and shook as she climaxed, her mind empty except for the passing thought that she should try not to crush Niall’s head between her thighs, as it was of vital importance to her that he be able to do that to her again in the future.

While Kat tried to catch her breath, Niall nuzzled his face into her inner thigh, lightly kissing and biting at the tender skin there. Her post-orgasm haze finally starting to clear, she looked down to see him smiling up at her from between her legs, the expression on his face a mixture of pride and lust. She grinned back at him somewhat stupidly, not really having her wits about her, until she noticed him slowly rocking his hips into the bed, no doubt craving the friction. 

“C’mere,” Kat whispered to him and he quickly complied, moving so they were eye to eye and belly to belly. They kissed, Kat licking into his mouth when he seemed to hesitate, likely concerned she wouldn’t want to taste herself. 

“How do ya want it?” he asked, blunt as always, when she broke the kiss. 

“Can I ride you? I love it.”

“Fuck yes, ya can,” he growled out immediately.

“Better for your knee that way too.”

“Me knee can handle any position, love, but thanks for your concern.” Tucking his hands under her body, he rolled them so she was on top, keeping her close so he could kiss her again. When she pulled back, he directed her to his bedside table to grab a condom.

Protection in hand, Kat opened the packet and rolled the condom down his shaft, only slightly teasing him as she did so, too impatient herself to waste much time. That important task completed, Kat moved into position, holding his cock steady with one hand, the other rubbing lightly at his hip, as she lined him up at her entrance. 

As she slowly slid down, Kat started to second guess her request. He was pretty good sized AND she hadn’t had sex in quite a while AND she had forgotten how much deeper sex felt when she was on top. 

“Ya okay, baby?” Niall asked, seeing her hesitation.

“Yeah, just need to go slow here, you feel so deep already and I’m only halfway down.”

“Ya feel amazin’, take your time. I mean, within reason,” he joked, smiling up at her through gritted teeth. “You’re in charge here.”

She braced her hands on his twitching stomach and continued to inch down, groaning when she finally sat down fully on his hips. Despite her awareness that it was an anatomical impossibility, she was so wet from her previous orgasm that it felt like his dick was somehow nestled between her lungs. She’d kept her gaze centered on Niall’s torso the entire time she’d been moving, so completely focused on what she was doing that she hadn’t wanted to be distracted. When she finally felt comfortable enough to look at him again, she saw that his eyes were closed tightly and he had his lips rolled in between his teeth, his face a strange mix of pleasure and pain. 

“Ni?” Kat asked tentatively. “Are -- are you okay?”

At the sound of her voice, his eyes popped open, his intense gaze locking with Kat’s.

“Fuck, ya feel so amazin’, Kat, I'm just really tryin’ not to come,” he replied, his voice strained as he attempted another smile.

Oh.

 _Well, that's okay, I guess,_ she thought. Kat continued to hold still, not exactly sure what she should do. Maybe he needed a bit more time? She didn't want to rush him, even though -- now that her body had relaxed -- she was absolutely dying to grind down on his cock. 

So she sat. 

And sat.

And Niall didn't move either, his eyes screwed shut again, his face looking more and more pained by the second. 

As it was apparent to Kat that she was hurting him, she finally decided her only real option was to get off him and call this whole thing quits. It was pretty much the last thing she wanted to do but she couldn't just sit there and continue to prolong his misery.

Carefully, trying not to alarm or injure him any more than she already had, she placed a hand on either side of the bed beside his chest and began lifting herself up slowly.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Niall groaned, the words bursting out of his mouth as he grasped onto her hips and pulled her back down onto his dick roughly, lifting his own hips to meet her halfway. Kat gasped in shock as he raised her up, then down again, all before she could even understand what was happening.

Continuing to work Kat up and down on top of him, his fingers digging into her waist, Niall grunted out between thrusts, “Was beginnin’ to think ya were never gonna move and I'd just die there like that, death by extreme arousal. I mean, what a way to go but I much prefer this, you're fuckin’ squeezin’ me cock so tight and ya look like the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in me life.”

While what Niall was doing felt amazing and Kat loved that he was so into it, this wasn't what she’d been envisioning when she’d requested to be on top. Not wanting to just tell him to knock it off and let her have some control too, she instead took a more roundabout way, leaning down and lightly brushing her breasts over his chest. When he groaned at the contact, Kat kissed him. 

She licked into his mouth over and over again, using the same pace Niall’s hips were moving as he fucked up into her, which soon had him so distracted he was only kissing her back and nothing more. Knowing that she was back in control, Kat began rolling her hips on top of him, shivering at the sensations it caused to pulse through her, her clit grinding into his pubic bone. Niall’s grunts told Kat he was enjoying it as well.

Once they both got acclimated to that, she changed it up, moving so her torso was upright and bouncing up and down on his dick, starting slowly then picking up the pace gradually, until the sounds of her ass slapping into the tops of his thighs echoed through the room.

“Jesus fuck, Kat, you're gonna fuckin’ kill me one way or another, aren't ya?” Niall panted.

Hair falling in her face, she grinned at him, putting her hands on his chest and softly rubbing at his nipples, carefully scratching over them lightly with her nails at random intervals, making him gasp each time she did. She slowed her hip movements, sliding forward towards his stomach until she could feel his cock almost get to the point of popping out of her, then pushing back towards his thighs so he filled her up again, back and forth, back and forth.

The pace and position were doing wondrous things for Kat, the base of his cock rubbing her clit perfectly when she moved forward, then when she slid back, the tip of his shaft drug across the sensitive bundle of nerves inside her, the combination lighting her up.

As she got closer to climax, her rhythm stuttered and she wasn’t able to keep the tempo that she’d been employing to such great effect. She looked down at Niall with wide eyes, trying to communicate to him what was happening but not having the brain power to articulate an actual request. He figured it out anyway, grabbing her hips and moving her body for her, resuming her previous pace. But somehow it felt even better; now, with Niall in control, Kat could completely let go.

“Yes, please, yes. Oh God, yes, keep doing that, yes, yes,” she groaned, then began moaning incomprehensibly as she orgasmed around him, her whole body vibrating.

“Yes, yes, baby,” Niall echoed, his voice deep and raspy, “sweet Jesus that feels so fuckin’ good, feel your cunt squeezin’ me, oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.” And then he was coming as well, his fingers digging into her hip bones, before moving his hands up her back and pulling her down into a sloppy, uncoordinated kiss that was all the sexier for its lack of finesse.

Kat lay motionless on his chest for some time, mind completely blank, until eventually the simultaneous discomfort of their torsos being glued together with sweat and the feeling of Niall’s softening cock slowly starting to slide out of her forced Kat to flop herself sideways off of him.

“Sorry, next time I’ll last a bit longer. It’s just been a long time and I was a bit too, uh, eager,” Niall apologized breathlessly after a quiet moment had passed.

Kat looked at him incredulously out of the side of her eye, too tired to fully turn her head. “Jesus, you don’t need to last any longer than you did. You’re such a guy, thinking it needs to last a week or we’re not happy. I came -- twice in fact -- and you came, we’re all good.”

He laughed and she could feel his gaze warm on the side of her face.

A sudden burst of discomfort struck Kat. “Okay, gotta pee, be right back,” she said and hopped out of bed, darting naked into the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet, questions began running through her mind, quicker than she could keep up with, until one thought rose to the top. 

What now? Should she just go to her room? Maybe he wouldn’t want her to sleep with him the rest of the night?

She knew he sometimes let his regular hook ups stay the night but not all the time -- what were his policies regarding post-sex bed sharing? But even if she knew what he normally did with the people he slept with, would it be different for her?

She tried to stop worrying about it, instead replaying some of the hottest bits of the amazing sex they’d just had (and there were a lot of hot bits to choose from) as she finished up in the bathroom, washing her hands. 

A new question emerged, however, and wouldn’t go away: _Why the hell didn’t I grab a shirt or some piece of clothing so I don’t have to go strolling back in there buck naked like it’s no big deal?_ Her urgency to get out of there, to pee and clean up, clearly overrode any forward thinking she might normally have done. 

Without any other real options, she improvised and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her midsection. That problem solved, she took a big breath for courage and headed back to the bedroom, silently pulling the door open.

Where Niall was asleep. 

_Well, now fucking what?_

Kat looked down at him, debating what she was going to do, now that it was clear she wasn’t going to get any input from him on the subject. She had just decided that the option of least possible humiliation was to go back to her own bed when Niall stirred, opening his eyes up sleepily before holding his hand out to her with a soft smile.

With a quiet sigh of relief, Kat walked over to the bed, dropping the towel at the last minute and sliding under the sheet, her back facing him. As she'd hoped, he snuggled up behind her, smoothing his hand down her arm and nuzzling into the side of her neck.

“Fuck, baby, ya wore me out, ‘m sorry I passed out.”

Now that she was there, comfortable in his arms, Kat’s previous worries seemed a lifetime away. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna be awake for long either.”

“Knew it would be good but I never guessed that good,” Niall mumbled into her skin.

Kat moved onto her back so she could see him. “Isn't it like that whole BJ thing though? Y’know, the difference between a good blow job and a bad blow job is like …” she held up her fingers an inch apart. “So, like, for a man, the worst sex ever is still pretty good, from what my guy friends have said.”

His chest bounced in what may have been a half asleep chuckle. “Dunno ‘bout that, they must notta ever had the kinda sex we just had. Now sleep, baby, go t’ sleep. Gotta get ready,” Niall said, his voice slurring so badly she could hardly understand him. He yawned, barely getting the next part out, “for that next round ya were talkin’ about.”

He lost consciousness practically before he’d finished talking. 

After one last look at his sleeping face, Kat rolled onto her side again. Before she could make any attempt to scooch back into him, Niall pulled her in tight to his body, though the sound of his deep, even breathing in her ear confirmed he wasn’t awake.

Content and warm, Kat dipped her chin down to kiss his arm where it lay across the top of her chest, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story, please share [this story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry) on Tumblr, thanks!
> 
> Thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 24th birthday to Niall! Seems fitting to put up an update today, doesn't it? 
> 
> Clearly I have no idea about when I'll be posting updates--as it's getting closer and closer to the end here, each chapter takes me longer and longer, it seems like. Sorry about that, hope it's not so frustrating you're giving up on the story. 
> 
> Thank you as always for the kudos/comments and for checking in occasionally on tumblr, I so appreciate it!
> 
> Enjoy!

Kat and Niall woke up late the next day, as despite not quite making it to that next round they’d talked about, they were both completely exhausted by the amazing sex they’d actually had. 

Kat still felt kinda foggy as Niall jumped out of bed when he saw the time, swearing and grabbing clothes. She knew they needed to hurry if they were going to make it on time (or even a Louis/Zayn approximation of on time) to the band’s final rehearsal before the kickoff show the next day. 

Knowing that, and being able to convince herself to actually move quickly, however, were two vastly different things. 

When Niall got in the shower, Kat finally managed to drag herself to her own bathroom, starting the water before somewhat dazedly staring at her reflection in the room’s large mirror, noticing a few small red marks and beard burns on her neck and torso. Coupled with the subtle aches she felt -- in her muscles as well as, uh, _elsewhere_ \-- and all the evidence was there.

She’d finally had sex again after her long dry spell.

And not just with anyone. She’d slept with _Niall_.

Despite still being out of it, Kat managed to shower fairly quickly. Any ground she’d made up, though, was likely lost when she found herself staring into the mirror once again after drying off and brushing her teeth. 

“Kat, as much as I like what you’re not wearing, you gotta get dressed. We have to go.” Kat’s eyes widened when she heard Niall’s voice, turning to find him standing in the doorway, only a few feet away from her. He was obviously all finished getting ready, he even had shoes on.

While, in direct contrast, she was completely naked.

Her reaction delayed, Kat squealed, throwing her hands up over her chest as her eyes searched the room wildly for a towel. 

Niall was unsympathetic. “Baby, no reason to be shy. I’ve already seen it all.”

Finally locating her still damp towel, Kat changed her mind about why she wanted it, choosing instead to chuck it at the smug bastard’s head. 

He dodged it easily, swatting the fabric down onto the floor as he advanced towards her. There wasn’t anywhere for Kat to run to or hide in the small room, so she forced herself to hold still, hands on her hips, acting like it was no big deal that she was standing nude in a brightly lit room, right in front of him, the morning after they’d first slept together. As she didn’t put up a fight, he had no problem bending his knees and wrapping his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet until her face was even with his.

“Hi,” he said, the smile on his face warm and genuine. 

“Hi,” she said back, no longer even slightly embarrassed or annoyed, putting her arms around his neck and closing the small distance between them. 

He returned her kiss, both of their mouths minty fresh from their morning teeth cleaning, before moving his hands over her ass and onto the back of her thighs. He stepped forward to set her down on the counter, sliding his palms further down her legs to urge her to wrap them around his waist. Kat was only too happy to comply.

As their kisses grew hotter, Kat moved to pull his shirt off. Niall swore, grabbing her wrists in one of his hands. “Fuck, Kat, we gotta go. There’s no fuckin’ time.”

Kat lifted her eyebrows. “No _fucking_ time? So when _will_ there be time to fuck, Niall? I believe I was promised a second round.” She toyed with the waistband of his athletic shorts as he spoke, as he’d been short sighted enough to leave her restricted hands right in front of his bellybutton.

“The minute this goddamn rehearsal is over, alright?” He pulled her wrists, still clasped together in his grip, above her head, his eyes darkening as he watched her breasts sway with the movement. “If I don’t fuckin’ die first.”

*

“Hm.”

Kat just ignored him, knowing that nothing good would come from asking him what he was up to when he had that mischievous look on his face. So instead she acted like her phone was the most fascinating thing ever. 

“Interestin’, very interestin’.”

That’s the thing about Louis Tomlinson, though, is that he doesn’t really care if you want to hear it, he’s going to tell you regardless.

Kat gave in, knowing it was inevitable. Tossing her phone onto the seat beside her, she rolled her eyes and said, “Jesus, Lou, go ahead.”

“Someone’s a bit testy. Which I wouldn’t have anticipated, given that I’ve never seen someone so obviously fucked out in me life.”

Kat tried, she really did, but she couldn’t control the flood of color to her face that told Louis everything he needed to know.

Before he could get a word out, she quickly said, trying to sound nonchalant despite her face’s betrayal, “Oh really? Like on a scale of 1 to Harry in Dallas, precisely how fucked out am I, Louis?”

“Fuck off. I liked ya better ‘fore you knew everythin’ about us,” he groused, then stomped out of the room. 

Kat knew that time she’d spent searching One Direction videos on YouTube over the holiday would come in handy.

*

Once she’d chased him down and apologized, Kat made Louis promise to only tell Harry that she and Niall had indeed fucked. After talking to Lou and trying to answer all his damn questions, though, she realized that she wasn’t sure if this thing -- whatever it was, between her and Niall -- was going to be an ongoing thing or merely contained to this trip. The only thing she really knew is it wasn’t just a one time hook up as Niall had already talked to her about when they got back to their suite and what he planned to do to her. That and all of the hot looks he continuously was shooting at her whenever they’d made eye contact during the band’s practice assured her that, at the very least, they were having sex again that evening.

Several times, in fact, if Niall was to be believed.

But she had no idea beyond that. She’d emphasized when they’d talked before they’d slept together that she knew this didn’t make them boyfriend and girlfriend, but in her mind, she’d figured they’d keep sleeping together for the duration of her contract if the sex was good.

Which it had been. Very very good.

But she realized now that she hadn’t communicated that at all to Niall, so she had no idea what he was thinking. He was quite obviously very into her at the moment, but he didn’t really seem like a person with a long attention span, at least where relationships were concerned, so maybe he’d be bored with her well before that. Which she supposed they’d have to deal with if that happened. Because if he got bored and wanted to start sleeping around again, she was done. Despite her uncertainty about a lot of things about Niall, there was one thing she was quite sure of: she wasn’t at all willing to share him. If they were together, even in a weird sort of non-relationship casual thing, he couldn’t sleep with other people. Period.

All this meant that they needed to have another conversation about where things stood between them. Which, while she didn’t love the idea of having to do that, yet again, she was determined that they continue to talk to each other as much as they could, in the hope that they might be able to avoid any potential landmines. 

Because Kat knew, now that there was sex involved, things were going to be complicated enough without miscommunication thrown in there.

True to his word, the minute the guys were done with their rehearsal, Niall hustled Kat out the door and into their waiting rental car. His eyes kept shifting between her and their surroundings, making it clear to Kat that he wanted to pull her in for a kiss but knew the chances of them getting caught by his bandmates was too high to risk it. 

It was kind of funny to Kat to realize that they were apparently now sneaking around behind their friends’ backs to keep this thing someone secret as it would be completely fine -- celebrated, in fact, by the band’s management -- if they were to be caught making out by the fans as it would make things all the more believable but God forbid Liam should see them, as that would be awkward to explain. Their whole fake relationship becoming a bit more real meant they were now having to hide the fact that it was real from those people that knew it was fake. While at the same time trying to continue to make it look real to everyone else that thought it was real. 

It was enough to make your head hurt.

Kat was doing a shit job of trying to explain what she was finding so humorous about the situation to Niall, when, once they were a few blocks away from the venue, Niall pulled over to the side of the road. Quickly unbuckling his seatbelt, he cut Kat off mid-sentence when he leaned in and kissed her so hard she completely forgot what she’d been saying.

“Fuck, I’ve been wantin’ to do that for hours. Hi,” he breathed, running the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. 

She blinked at him, not saying a word, feeling completely witless after that intense liplock. He smirked at her and started to move away. Pulling herself out of her stupor, Kat grabbed his shirt before he got far and pulled him towards her again by the back of his head, kissing him just as passionately as he’d kissed her.

Niall was now the one left stunned, almost tipping over completely into her side of the car when she moved away again. It was Kat’s turn to smirk as she helped steady him and get readjusted so his weight was centered over his own seat in the vehicle. 

“Why don’t you get us home now, ‘kay?” Kat asked, her voice sticky sweet as she patted his leg, leaving her hand there when she was done. Shaking his head at her, Niall laughed and pulled back onto the street.

Getting some spirit back, he said, “No real reason to hold off if you’re feelin’ impatient -- I’m up for some road head if you are.” He looked over and waggled his eyebrows at her, moving so his arm was on the back of her seat to grant easy access to his lap.

She rolled her eyes in return and started to pull her hand off his lap. Niall grabbed her before she got too far, lacing their fingers together and resting them again on his leg. Kat stared at their joined hands for a second before she remembered to respond. “I can wait, thanks,” she said, tone dripping with sarcasm. “Safety first, you know.” She didn’t tell him that road head was something she didn’t do, or any head at all, for that matter. No reason even discussing that if this thing between them wasn’t going to be ongoing. She hoped it would be, really really hoped he’d want to continue, but she just didn’t know what he was going to say when she … 

Niall’s voice suddenly cut through her inner monologue. “Kat, can hear ya thinkin’ again, this can’t be good. Out with it.”

Sometimes she forgot how well he could read her. “It’s nothing bad, I’d rather just talk about it at the house, if that’s okay?”

“Wasn’t plannin’ on doin’ much talkin’ when we got home, but sure, that’ll work,” he joked but she was so in her head that she couldn’t even pretend to laugh. Kat could feel his gaze on the side of her face, questioning, and he shook her hand to get her attention.

She sighed. “Point made, I’ll just talk now. No sense sitting awkwardly until we get there. Um, I guess I just wanted to talk about, uh, us sleeping together? Like, if we were going to keep doing it or what you were thinking?” She continued, not waiting for him to answer any of her questions, “I mean, I’m up for continuing this if you are, but I … I need you to not be sleeping with anyone else in order for me to be comfortable with it. I know that’s a bit different than what you’re, uh, used to and it might be hard? Since, you know, there’ll probably be times we’re apart for quite awhile but I - I’m just not equipped for sharing. And obviously I won’t sleep with anyone else either.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw Niall nod his head, so at the very least, he was tracking what she was saying, if not necessarily agreeing with the content. So she continued before he could speak. “I just have too many insecurities, in general and with you specifically, to let me be okay with you sleeping with other people,” she explained, then paused, figuring he deserved an opportunity to respond.

Niall was quiet for another second, wanting to make sure she was done, before he replied, “First off, I definitely want to keep sleepin’ with ya, so ‘yes’ to that one. And I’m fine with not bein’ with anyone but you, haven’t slept with anyone else in a long time anyway. It just started feelin’ wrong at some point.” _That was interesting_ , thought Kat, momentarily distracted from her giddiness that he wanted to keep sleeping with her enough to agree to her condition. So he hadn’t been sleeping around for awhile, how had she missed that?

As fascinating as that all was, Kat couldn’t let herself think about that for long. Focusing back on their current conversation, Kat got out the last but important bit of information she needed to share with him. “Good, I’m glad you’re okay with that. But if I'm not enough for you, or you get bored at some point, you need to just tell me and we can end it. Swear I won’t be pissed at you or anything; we can just go back to being friends. I know you might think I’m freaky because of the whole bisexual thing but I’m not really all that crazy in the sack, as you’ve seen by now.”

Niall looked affronted, as though she’d insulted his own sexual prowess instead of hers. “Are ya fuckin’ kiddin’ me? You’re amazin’ in bed, don’t need to do backflips to be a good fuck.”

“Oh, Niall, you sweet talker, you. Tell me more about how to be a good fuck, as you so eloquently put it. Or, more importantly, tell me why I apparently fit that description,” Kat said, not really able to be as sarcastic as she meant to be. In fact, she was so happy she actually giggled, which completely destroyed any attempt at playing it cool she’d been going for.

He looked over at her, a smile twisting his mouth at her obvious joy and his eyebrows raised yet again. “Ya really want me to do that? ‘Cause I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you, but no. I was just joking,” she said primly.

“Don’t know, from what ya just said, sounds like I might need to. What about me makes ya feel insecure?” he asked, his tone completely sober now, not a trace of his former teasing left.

“It’s not so much you as, um, how do I say this? Like, who you are? I mean, that you’re super famous and have slept with other super famous people? I mean, probably? Whatever, that part doesn’t matter so much. It’s just, like, what your expectations might be that gets in my head sometimes, although mostly I’m okay. But I'm pretty sure if you kept sleeping around, my mind would go wild imagining all the better sex you were having with these other women. And I’d start feeling inadequate and … well, it’d be a mess. Which wouldn’t be good for either of us, obviously.”

“Kat, this isn’t me blowin’ smoke up your ass, so you’ve gotta believe me when I say that last night was easily some of the best sex I’ve ever had. No question. And that was just the first time -- which, from my experience, isn’t usually all that great. So if we were that good together without knowin’ what we were doin’, without knowin’ exactly what the other likes and doesn’t like, think how good we’re gonna get once we get the hang of it.”

“If we get much better, I might, quite honestly, die. I can’t handle much more than that.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. We’ll work up to the back flips.”

*

“Oof.”

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, don’t stop.” 

“Didn’t plan on it, as long as you’re not concussed.”

Kat giggled. “I just bumped my head, but I'm fine. But nice word, Horan. Impressed with your ability to --” she gasped, “-- multitask. Oral sex while speaking intelligently; you’re a man of many talents.”

“Thanks, baby.”

They were still in the entryway of their rented home, not making it any farther than that before they’d attacked each other. Niall had her naked and up against the wall in a matter of seconds, down on his knees in front of her, his mouth working against her center, her leg flung over his shoulder so he could get to her better. 

“Fuck, I can’t wait any longer,” Niall said, sliding her leg down and getting to his feet, his hands moving towards his shorts. “Turn around.” 

Kat immediately obeyed, wanting him inside of her just as badly as he clearly wanted to be there. She peeked over her shoulder to see him sliding a condom on (which he’d must have had on him, which was perhaps a bit presumptuous but Kat was glad of it), then she quickly turned back around to brace her hands on the wall and bend forward slightly. 

And then he was pushing into her and they were both groaning. After a couple of slow strokes, he gripped her hips in his hands and thrust with much more force, grunting out a terse, “that okay?” to her before he did it again. 

“Yeah, don’t stop,” she panted back, echoing her earlier words. Niall didn’t reply this time but he’d obviously heard her, as he began to fuck her hard, each stroke rougher than the one before. Kat arched her back, pushing her ass back into him as much as she could, loving how desperate he was for her, how desperate they were for each other.

His left hand slid over her stomach, to her center, a finger on each side of her clitoris, rubbing back in forth in time with the movement of his hips. Kat closed her eyes and focused on just how good it felt, to have him touching her with his calloused fingers while his cock slid in and out of her at a punishing pace.

Niall’s breath was hot in her ear. “No pressure, but are ya close? ‘Cause I fuckin’ am.” 

Kat let out a groaning laugh, moving so her forearm was resting against the wall, freeing up a hand to join Niall’s between her legs. He slid his fingers out of the way so Kat’s could replace them, and as she touched herself, her movements sure and well-practiced, he put his hand on top of hers, deliciously lending additional weight and pressure to her motions.

Kat gasped as their hands glided frantically over her slippery flesh. Her forehead thumped into the wall and she left it there, needing all the support she could get. Niall moved both of his palms up her body, his fingers spread wide as he grasped a breast in each hand, leaving her tightly drawn nipples untouched between his index and pointer fingers. Until he scissored his fingers together, lightly pinching her nipples in the process. 

Kat came instantly, crying out in shock and pleasure. 

“That’s it, baby, that’s it. Knew you could do it, such a good girl, you’re so good to me. Still feel ya shakin’ inside, feels so good. So fuckin’ wet, so fuckin’ tight. Love your cunt, love your tits, love your ass, all of ya. Wanna fuck ya in every room of this house, on every surface possible. Think ya’d like that, baby? Ya would, wouldn’t ya?”

Kat nodded wearily, no energy left for words, her head turned to the side so he could see her profile. 

“Fuck, I’m gonna come. Can I come on your ass? It looks so perfect right now. That okay, baby?

Kat nodded again, dropping her head and putting her palms to the wall as she tilted her bottom out, wanting to give him the best possible target. It was the least she could do.

She felt him pull out of her, saw the used condom hit the tile floor by her feet (which, gross, but it barely even registered at that moment), heard the slick motion of his hand pumping his cock. 

Then the warm splash of his come on her ass and his shouted “fuck!” echoing through the room.

“Holy shit, baby. Holy shit.” He leaned his forehead against her back, panting hotly onto her shoulder and softly kneading her waist with his hands. He was careful to keep his hips aways from her backside so he didn’t get them both even messier than they already were. 

After a minute or so of them both catching their breath, Kat knew she needed to move of her own volition or her body was going to just do it for her and she’d collapse into a sated heap right there on the cold tile. But when she tried to move her legs, one knee buckled and she just about went down anyway. Niall quickly slid an arm around her, propping her up so she could lock her legs again. “Hold on for just a sec, Kat, let me … ,” he said, bending over quickly while still holding onto her, “clean ya up a bit.” She grimaced as she felt cloth slide over her ass, wiping up what he’d left behind there. “Had to use your shirt, sorry about that. I’ll wash it for ya.”

Then she felt an arm slide behind her knees and she was suddenly horizontal in his arms, pressed to his chest, his smiling face close to hers. 

And she realized why Niall’d been forced to use her shirt rather than his: he was still completely dressed. She looked down at the floor to see his bright blue tennis shoes underneath her. “Honestly, you didn’t even take your shoes off, Niall?”

Moving towards his bedroom, he laughed. “I didn’t, did I? Was a bit too focused, I guess.”

“It’s good, I guess, since you’re doing some heavy lifting now. You need supportive footwear.” While Kat completely appreciated Niall’s gallantry in swooping her up into his arms, she was mortified at the same time. About her weight and the strain he was undoubtedly under keeping her aloft, just how very naked she was in broad daylight and the way her body looked as he held her: her stomach in rolls, her breasts each lolling to the side drunkenly. It wasn’t pretty.

“Knew ya’d say somethin’ about your weight.”

“Sorry,” Kat said, closing her eyes in shame. She should have kept her mouth shut.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. It’s your illness,” he said matter of factly. He gently laid her on the bed and she opened her eyes to see him pulling off his shirt while toeing off his shoes at the same time. His shorts and boxer briefs quickly joined the rest on the floor and then he was balancing himself above her, his knees on either side of hers and his forearms braced by her sides. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and said, “It’s my job to just be here for ya. I mean, it’s pretty obvious how fit I think ya are, but I know it’s not about that.”

Kat cupped his face in her hands, looking at him in wonder. “Niall Horan, how are you so perfect?”

“That’s the orgasm talkin’, we both know I’m the furthest thing from perfect. But I do care about ya and want to help ya as much as I can.” He gave her another soft kiss, then rolled off of her, pulling her with him so her face was pillowed on his chest. “Let’s rest up for a minute, then ya wanna go again?” he asked, his hand moving down to her ass. “Might not even need that long.”

She laughed. “Never change, Niall.”

“It’s your fault, woman. You inspire me.”

Kat made a very mature gagging sound, then tipped her head up so she could see his face. “Just so you know, since we’re now in a monogamous relationship, I’m on the pill and had my annual exam last month so I know I’m completely healthy and disease-free. Assuming you’re the same? --” when Niall nodded at Kat’s questioning look, she continued, “-- which means that we can ditch the condoms if you’d like?”

He shrugged. “Ah, it’s fine. I really don’t mind ‘em, meself. Pretty used to them at this point in me life.”

“Well, it certainly doesn’t make any difference to me, but I know some guys aren’t big fans, so I thought I’d put the offer out there. We can continue on the way we’ve been going, no problem. It’s not my dick.”

Niall moved her hand to his waist, where, as predicted, things were starting to perk up again. “It kinda is yours, baby. If ya want it to be.”

*

They were on a boat.

Well, a yacht. A big fucking yacht in the Sydney Harbor. For Sophia’s birthday.

It was a full ‘beards day out’ event, with all of the One Direction couples, minus Zayn and Perrie, involved in the excursion. Plus some friends and security. 

The boat (or whatever) was massive, two levels, with bars and seating throughout, waitstaff bustling all over the place. Kat had never seen anything like it. 

She tried her best to keep her mouth from gaping in amazement as the couples all settled in on the top deck, making themselves comfortable on the plush striped seating arranged at the front of the boat (Kat knew there were more precise words for describing the various things on boats/yachts/ships, what have you, but words like ‘starboard’ and ‘bow’ refused to stick in her head). Their choice of location probably had less to do with the beautiful view and max possible exposure to the sunshine as it did with having the most visibility for photographers. 

“Hey, you okay? I know it’s a lot to take in,” Niall asked, as Kat moved to get up.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just going to go use the restroom. Be right back.”

Niall made a rather obvious ‘poop deck’ joke, clearly having the same respect for aquatic vessel terminology as Kat did, and blew her a kiss as she left. She asked one of the many crew members milling around where to find a bathroom and once she located it on the lower level, she locked herself in safely. 

Leaning against the door, she looked around to find that the bathroom was just as lavish as the rest of the yacht, although fairly small. Kat allowed her legs to relax and slid down the door, wrapping her arms around her knees. 

If one were going to have a mental breakdown in a bathroom, Kat supposed that a yacht bathroom was a fairly good choice. It was certainly super clean and posh.

What the actual fuck was she doing? She was in so far over her head that she felt like she was drowning. Sleeping with Niall had been a bad, bad idea. He was from a completely different world, one she could never fit into. 

Not that it mattered. It’s not like he was even asking her to fit into his world. No, that would imply that she’d be sticking around longer than the duration of her contract. That what was between them was real and not just a sexual relationship of convenience.

At least for Niall. Kat wasn’t so sure what it was for her anymore. 

After a couple of minutes of allowing herself to freely fret, Kat got up, actually used the toilet, washed her hands, and headed back out. Her plans to rejoin Niall immediately were derailed when she saw Basil and Paddy enjoying some drinks on the lower deck. Feeling like hanging out with them was more her speed at the moment -- after all, they were all employees of the band -- she made her way over.

When Paddy excused himself to get another beer after awhile, she found Basil looking at her closely, concern evident on his face. “Kat, you can go hang out, drink, have fun. No one thinks that means you think you’re better than us. We’re old, you’re young, it’s completely understandable that you’d want to spend time with people your own age. It doesn’t make you a bad person. Plus, it’s basically your job right now.”

“Jesus, I’m that transparent, am I?” She sighed, leaning onto Basil’s shoulder slightly, both of their backs resting on the ship’s railing. “I’m overthinking everything all of a sudden, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I have a guess what it’s about but you’re good, no need to worry on my behalf,” Basil said. So great, that answered that, he clearly knew her and Niall were fucking. Awesome. What must he think of her? “Just try to enjoy the beautiful afternoon on this beautiful ship. And, after that, just try to take it day by day.”

“Good advice. Thanks, I needed it.” She gave him a half hug and decided to try to follow his words of wisdom, making her way back upstairs and pausing a moment to enjoy the view before she went to join Niall again.

“Having a good time?” a voice asked, and Kat turned to find Sophia at her side. 

“Sure,” Kat said, managing to make her voice sound believable. “It’s so beautiful out here. Pretty nice birthday, right?” Kat had already wished Sophia a happy birthday when they’d gotten there, giving her a pretty bracelet she’d bought when she and Niall had first arrived in Australia.

“It really is. Bit cooler out here than I would have thought, though.”

Sophia joined Kat at the railing, resting her arms on the top rung. Kat knew what was coming and, to her credit, Sophia didn’t mince words, “So, you and Niall hooked up, am I right?”

“Uh…” Kat said, not sure what she should say.

Sophia bumped her shoulder into Kat’s. “No reason to be shy about it, Kat. I’m just curious.”

“I’m sorry if you’re upset that we’re sleeping together --” But Sophia cut her off before she could get any further, laughing and holding up her hand. 

“Kat, please, I just fucked him. I didn’t want to have his babies like you do.” Seeing the hurt look on Kat’s face, she quickly added, “Oh my God, I’m just teasing you, Kat, sorry. All I meant to say is that me and Niall were just sex, nothing else. I’m happy for you if you’re happy.”

“We’re just sex too, Soph. Seriously. It just seems like more because we’re fake dating at the same time.”

“Mmh.” The look on Sophia’s face said she wasn’t buying it.

Which of course riled Kat right up again. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Sophia reached out and ran her hand down Kat’s arm soothingly. “Kat, calm down. Nothing, it means nothing. I seriously didn’t mean anything bad by it, just that you seem pretty into him. That’s not a bad thing; he’s a good guy, I get it.”

“By good guy, are you referring to how good he is in bed? Because I’d love to talk to you about that,” Kat joked, trying to pretend that she didn’t hate knowing that Niall and Sophia had been intimate. 

Sophia laughed. “Excuse me, no. Hell no. No way I’m talking to you about that. I’d prefer not to be punched, thank you very much.”

“I wouldn’t punch you.” At least she didn't think she would.

“Sure you wouldn’t,” Sophia replied, not looking like she meant it. “Let’s go join everyone and get a drink for you, alright there, killer?”

Kat sighed, seeing she wasn’t going to convince Sophia that she and Niall were merely fucking, nothing more. “Sure, a drink sounds perfect. And hey, don’t say anything to Liam or anyone about Niall and me. I think Ni should be the one to tell them, as they’re his friends.”

“Sure, no problem. Liam and I don’t exactly have in-depth conversations usually anyway. C’mon, booze and photo ops this way.” 

Kat sighed, although she followed anyway, knowing she didn't have a choice. At least there was alcohol.

*

A few hours later, after doing her best job of pretending this was all just another day, Kat found another opportunity to slip away for a bit, once again finding a nice quiet spot on the ship’s railing with a great view of the harbor and the city surrounding it.

Glancing back over at the rest of her group, it was pretty clear that Kat was the only one really still in awe about this kind of thing. The rest of them seemed completely comfortable and at ease in their surroundings, still drinking and laughing on the deck. It didn’t mean anything bad about any of them, Kat knew, it was just that they’d all had longer to get acclimated to this way of life, regardless of how they’d all been brought up. From what Niall had told her, all of the members of One Direction were from working class families, so it was unlikely that any of them had been on a yacht prior to their band’s success. Sophia and Eleanor she knew less about, although she guessed they’d come from more privileged backgrounds. 

Kat doubted she could ever get used to such opulence. Especially as she felt she hadn’t done anything to deserve it.

“Your face looks like how I feel everytime I’m in a situation like this.” Lost in thought, Kat hadn’t noticed Niall coming up behind her as she stared out at the horizon, trying to pretend she didn’t notice the paparazzi a distance away, on boats of their own, their massive cameras pointed right at all of them. 

“How’s that?” Kat asked, wondering if he really could tell how she was feeling.

“Like I don’t belong, like everyone’s gonna realize that I grew up in this tiny house in a small town in cow shit smellin’ Ireland, with a da that was always workin’ and a brother that liked to pretend I didn’t exist. And now I drive a Range Rover and am lookin’ at properties -- with a pool, for fuck’s sake -- to buy in Los fuckin’ Angeles of all places, and today I’m here on this multi-million dollar yacht in Australia. How is this me life?”

She snorted softly. “Okay, yeah, that’s pretty much how I’m feeling too. Except I don’t have any of that stuff, nor have I done one thing to earn any of it, besides knowing you. Which I only do because someone in my family was once married to someone that’s apparently a big deal in the music industry, as well as a total ass face. So … yeah.”

Niall put his arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. Kat wanted to squirm away as she didn’t feel like she wanted to be comforted right then, but resisted the urge, instead resting her cheek on his chest. She felt the rumble of his words when he asked, “Sophia say something to ya? Seemed like ya were kinda upset when you two were talkin’ earlier.”

“She kind of did, but she didn’t mean any harm. Just got me in my head a bit. Not her fault.”

“Yeah?” Like he often did, Niall kissed her hair, which always made her feel warm and safe.

Kat wasn’t going to say anything more to him on the subject. Just because she’d realized she didn’t belong there and that she’d never belong there, there was no reason to tell him that. Fact was, like she’d realized earlier, it didn’t matter if she did or didn’t fit in -- this whole thing was only temporary. It couldn't be more of a moot point.

In the interest of changing the subject, Kat tipped her chin up, nuzzling into his neck for a second before placing an open mouthed kiss slowly onto his collarbone. She moved one of her hands up from where it’d been resting on his waist, scratching lightly at his exposed chest, as he’d left the top several buttons of his plaid shirt undone, allowing some of his lightly furred chest to peek out.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind getting the full tour of this boat. Would you want to show me what’s below deck?” Kat asked, looking up at Niall, letting her fingers trail down his shirt suggestively.

“Nice double entendre there, Kitten. And absolutely. Let’s go.” Niall pushed away from the railing, grabbing Kat’s hand and pulling her after him. 

Kat was sure it wasn’t really what Basil had meant, but she figured there was no better way to appreciate this beautiful day than by fucking Niall Horan in a 26 million yacht. 

Carpe diem, and all that.

*

A few weeks later, Kat had just gotten done showering and getting ready after her pre-show run with Harry and was heading to Niall’s dressing room by herself, winding her way through the always confusing maze of backstage corridors.

As she rounded the corner, she came face to face with a familiar looking girl close to her own age. Kat immediately apologized for almost running her down, but the girl just scowled and moved past her, knocking her shoulder into Kat’s purposely. And somewhat painfully. 

Kat frowned and rubbed her arm, looking back at the other girl as she stormed off, wondering how she knew her and why exactly she’d been so rude.

She walked into Niall’s dressing room to find him sitting on a chair in there, pulling on his hair. 

He jumped to his feet but didn’t approach her. “Kat…”

“What’s up? You look upset.”

“Yeah, uh, I mean, I'm not upset but I don't want you to be either. Hold on a sec.” He walked past her and kicked the door jam out so his door slammed shut. Kat jumped at the sound, suddenly feeling sick. “Ya remember that girl I told ya about when I was down here for the ARIAs? The one they wrote those stories about?”

“Yeah, Melissa.” Fuck, _that's_ who that'd been.

Niall nodded. “That’s her. Uh, I guess she decided that she wanted to try one more time to, um, convince me that we should, uh, date or whatever. Said she’d broken up with her boyfriend for me so there wasn’t any reason we couldn’t, y’know, fuck now.”

“Oh.”

He rushed on, “I told her I wasn’t interested, that you and I were together now, for real. So nothin’ happened, I promise.”

“How’d she even get back here? Half the time I have a hard time if I’m not walking in with one of you guys.”

“Liam happened to be by the back entrance when she was trying to get in -- he’s met her before so knew her and I were friends. And he doesn’t know about us -- I mean, you and I -- so don’t be mad at him or anythin’.”

“I’m not mad at Liam.”

Niall nodded and there was a beat of uneasy silence before he spoke again. “Are ya mad at me?”

“No, I’m not. I’m kinda annoyed at Mel but that’s it. You know what? That’s not fair. I’m not even mad at her. I guess I’m annoyed at the situation. Like everyone that really knows you knows we weren’t really dating, so how was she supposed to know something had changed? It’s cool, we’re cool. Honestly.” Kat nodded, more to herself than anything, feeling strange about the whole thing, but not overly troubled. No real harm.

With apparent relief, Niall collapsed into the chair he’d been sitting in when Kat had gotten there. “C’mere, Kitten.”

Kat walked over to him before she’d fully comprehended what he’d said. “Wait, Kitten?”

For once, it was Niall that was blushing. He rubbed his hand through the back of his hair, looking extremely embarrassed. “Um, yeah? Is that alright?”

Kat thought about it for a second, then smiled down at him. “Yeah, from you, I like it. It’s cute.”

“You’re cute.”

“So are you. But you need to tell the rest of the guys we’re sleeping together, okay? They’re your friends, they deserve to know.”

“You’re right. I will. Tonight, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

As Niall pulled her onto his lap, Kat took her purse off, dropping it unceremoniously onto the floor beside them. “This is a very nice dress, I like it a lot. Dresses in general are very nice, much better access …” He slid his hands under her dress, moving her underwear to the side as he touched her softly, watching her face closely to make sure it was alright. 

Kat exhaled with a quiet moan, glancing over towards the door. “Is this safe? Is the door locked?”

“Yep. Probably should hurry a bit though.” She moved her hands to his zipper, making quick work of it before pulling him out, then it was his turn to moan. 

“Condom?” she asked.

“Jesus fuck, I don’t know,” he looked around wildly, as though hoping one would materialize in front of his eyes. 

“No worries, I have one in my purse,” Kat said, leaning over and grabbing the condom out of the zippered portion of her bag.

“You’re a genius,” Niall praised, grabbing it out of her hand and quickly getting it out and on, Kat helping to roll it down his cock.

The both groaned in unison as she slid down onto him, Niall pulling her face towards him to kiss her deeply. When he moved back to take a breath, Kat lifted up slightly, then ground down on him as he pushed up into her, staring into each other's eyes, faces inches apart, as she gripped his shoulders to give herself some leverage. She kissed him before she began slowly lifting herself up again … 

“Hey Nialler, do ya -- oh, holy fuck,” Zayn said, standing in the doorway, holding open the quite apparently not-at-all-locked door.

Kat was mortified but she stayed put, knowing that if she got up, Niall would be exposed completely. Plus, maybe it wasn’t completely obvious that they were fucking as her skirt totally covered Niall’s lap? Maybe Zayn would just assume they were making out?

“I knew it, I knew it! How long has this been going on? No, wait, don’t tell me. Me and Li have a bet, and I said since Christmas but he said no, or maybe just like once, like on accident, but more regularly now. So, who’s right?” Zayn asked excitedly, either unaware or uncaring about the fact that Niall was still inside Kat at that moment.

Kat looked down at Niall, not sure how he’d want her to answer that. But he looked like he was in immense pain, so she figured she was on her own to deal with Zayn, not that she was feeling all that equipped to handle the situation either.

“Could we maybe talk about this some other time, Zayn?” she said, hoping that would be enough for him to get the hint and leave.

“Yeah yeah, that’s fine. I’ll let you two get back to it,” he said, backing out of the room with a wink and closing the door behind him. A half second later, the door opened slightly and a hand reached in and clicked the lock before pulling it shut again.

Kat smacked Niall’s shoulder. “You fucker, you said the door was locked!”

“I thought it was, ‘m sorry, Kat. Ya know I’d never want someone to walk in on us like that. Coulda been worse though, I coulda already had your top off!”

“Niall, you’re in me and Zayn walked in on us. That’s pretty fucking bad, in my opinion.” Kat covered her face with her hands. “Oh God, how am I going to look at him again?”

“It’ll be alright, Kat, I’ve walked in on the rest of ‘em and they all survived.” He shifted very slightly underneath her, reminding Kat that they were still quite intimately connected. Niall was apparently well aware himself as he tried -- and failed -- to stifle a small groan at the sensation.

“How are you still hard, Niall, honestly? I would think that whole scene would have been enough to cool anyone down but apparently not.”

“Because I’m _in you_ , Kat,” he said, parroting back her earlier words. “You’re clearly underestimatin’ how amazin’ ya feel, that’s more than enough to keep me hard. Ya sayin’ you’re not interested anymore?”

Kat pretended to be weighing her decision, tapping her chin and doing her best ‘what should I do?’ face, before putting Niall out of his misery. “I suppose,” she said, rolling her hips one way, “the damage,” then the other, “has already,” one more hip roll for good measure, “been done. Might as well enjoy ourselves.”

“Fuck yeah,” Niall breathed, grabbing onto her hips and helping her out.

“I guess Zayn and Liam know now, though, so at least that’s taken care of.”

Niall buried his shout of laughter in her neck and Kat couldn’t help her own fit of giggles.

They carried on with what they were doing anyway, and she was surprised to find that all that laughing didn’t impede the sex at all.

*

Despite the vast time difference (Perth was 13 hours ahead of the central time zone), Kat and Becca set up at time to talk the day of the guys’ last concert in Australia, deciding to FaceTime since they hadn’t seen each other in so long. Niall was already on his way to the stadium, so Kat had the house to herself.

Which she was very glad of, as pretty much the first thing Becca asked once they were safely connected was, “So you slept with him, huh?”

“Is it that obvious?” Kat had planned on telling Becca anyway but hadn’t wanted to just text her about it. 

“Probably not to the general public or anything, but I do know you pretty well by this point.”

“I guess that’s okay then.”

“Not to be a dick but you’re getting paid, so does this make you a prostitute? I mean, a super high dollar one, but a hooker nonetheless.”

“That’s a fair question. I’m getting paid even if I don’t sleep with him so I think it’s okay? I dunno.” Kat shrugged, not at all offended by the question.

“So it’s just like an added bonus? Like how my job has free soda for employees?”

Kat laughed. “Yes, exactly. Perfect analogy, that’s why you’re my best friend.”

“Okay, enough about the legalities of the whole thing, how was it?” Becca asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Fucking amazing, pun fully intended. Like, best sex ever.”

“Are you honestly referencing the title of one of the band’s songs in describing sexual intercourse with one of its members right now?”

“Not intentionally but it works.”

After Becca filled her in about what was happening in Lincoln, Kat caught Becca up on her life, including what they’d done and what she’d given/gotten for Valentine’s Day. Naturally, the band had had a concert that night, so Kat and Niall had gone out for a fancy (and photographed) lunch in Melbourne. Niall had “given” her a white gold Cartier Love bracelet that management had, in fact, purchased for her. Which took a lot of her enjoyment out of the gift, but it was still beautiful and she adored it. Niall was less enamored with the coordinating pendant screwdriver they’d gotten for him (from her, of course), but he wore it around his neck just the same. In real life, they’d agreed not to get each other anything, as they weren’t really dating and had only started sleeping together shortly before the holiday. 

Through the screen of Niall’s borrowed iPad, Kat saw Becca tapping away on her phone as she listened, then Becca gasped and interrupted her, “Do you know how much those things cost? Jesus.”

Kat immediately shook her head. “No, I don’t. And much like my purse, I’m not going to look so please don’t tell me. At least for the bracelet, it’s not Niall’s money; I don’t feel bad about those fuckers wasting their money on stuff like this.”

“True. Just don’t lose it.”

“I literally can’t, it’s screwed onto my wrist. I need Niall’s screwdriver to even take it off.”

Becca tipped over where she sat, bursting into laughter. “Oh … my … God, there are too many dirty jokes to make right now, I’m melting down.”

“Ha ha.”

*

When Kat got out of the shower the next morning prior to their afternoon flight to Japan, she found Niall laying in bed, not a stitch of clothes on, strumming his guitar (literally, not euphemistically) and staring at the ceiling. The body of the guitar covered all of his most interesting bits, but still.

She just shook her head at him and went to get a different shirt out of her luggage. She’d accidentally dribbled toothpastey slobber all over her other one and knew that the spots would drive her nuts if she didn’t change. 

She quickly swapped out her top, while simultaneously figuring out the songs Niall was playing as he moved from tune to tune, although she didn’t call them out like she’d done before. Instead, she made her way over to the bed to join him, although seeing his own open suitcase nearby diverted her from her initial plan.

She bent over and grabbed a piece of clothing, throwing it lightly at Niall’s head before she could second guess herself.

The music stopped abruptly as Niall comically peeked out at her from behind the boxer briefs that were now resting over half his face. “This your way of tellin’ me to get dressed? Or quit me pickin’ and shut up? Or both, I guess?”

“No, not at all. Just seemed like you were playing some real underwear throwing -- I cannot and will not use the word ‘panty’ music and your nicely folded and clean pair happened to be closer to me at that exact moment, so I thought I’d just use those.”

“Rather you’d thrown yours, if I’m honest. And whose to say those were clean?”

Kat immediately started wiping her hand on the sheets, making a disgusted face. “Oh my God, Niall, why do you have your dirty undies folded in your bag? Who does that?”

Niall’s shout of laughter only angered Kat all the more and she shot him a narrowed eye look. “You’re a disgusting human being, Niall J. Horan, hiding under the guise of a super tidy young man. Seriously sick.”

“Woman, you’ve had me dick inside of ya, what’s the big deal about touchin’ me pants? ‘Sides, they weren’t really dirty, ya dope. Just messin’ around with ya.” He sat up and threw the underwear back towards his bag.

“That’s it, you owe me a personal performance for making me thinking I’d just handled your grody undies. You have to do it.” Kat sat down cross legged at the end of the bed, ready for her own private concert.

Niall laughed, not put off at all by her demand. “Any requests?”

“Um…. no, just surprise me.”

Niall strummed at his guitar for a second, seemingly lost in thought, before he nodded and began playing a song that was instantly recognizable to Kat, but she wasn’t sure what it was at first. 

In a soft and true voice, Niall sang:

_Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth_  
_Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt_  
_Still a little hard to say what's going on_  
_Still a little bit of your ghost, your witness_  
_Still a little bit of your face I haven't kissed_

_You step a little closer each day  
That I can't say what's going on_

By the second line she knew the song (“Cannonball” by Damien Rice), her face lighting up so much that Niall could see the exact moment she’d figured it out, nodding at her with a smile. When he got to the chorus, he tipped his chin up at her, pausing until she sang quietly along with him. 

She continued to leave him to sing the verses on his own as she enjoyed just listening to his gorgeous voice, but she was grateful he’d encouraged the sing along so she didn’t have to worry about making awkward eye contact with him during the “love taught me to lie” line in the chorus. Instead, she could close her eyes and sing, swaying happily while she did so.

Too quickly for Kat, the song was coming to an end, and she stopped singing, so Niall’s voice rang out alone:

_It's not hard to grow  
When you know that you just don't know_

She waited until he was completely done strumming so that it was definitely safe, then carefully pulled the guitar out of Niall’s hands, put it into its case on the floor, closed the lid and locked it. That done, she turned towards the bed … 

And launched herself at him, straddling his narrow hips and kissing him everywhere she could reach, in constant motion, running her hands over his skin, pulling him closer towards her. When he moved to sit back up and roll her over, she pushed on his shoulders, letting him know that she wanted to stay on top. 

Kat forced herself to slow down somewhat, moving so she was eye level with his chest, then licking and nibbling at Niall’s small but lovely nipples until he was a bucking, squirming mess underneath her. Knowing she was torturing him -- albeit pleasantly -- Kat began to move down his stomach, dragging her teeth lightly over his taut muscles that bunched under her, mouthing over his hip bones, until she found herself fully situated between his legs, his erection standing up proudly in front of her. 

Kat moved to take him in hand, then hesitated. She sat back on her heels for a second, taking a deep breath, then said, “Okay, confession time. I’ve never actually given a successful blow job.”

Niall’s eyes shot open and his head popped up towards her. “Successful? Define that?” he asked, voice rough and sexy.

Kat grimaced, knowing she should go with the whole truth but not wanting it to spoil the mood. “Um, to completion, I guess? And, more precisely, without vomiting?”

“Easy gag reflex?” When she nodded, he added, “Me too.”

“Yeah. Particularly when I’ve been drinking heavily. So the one and only time I tried it, I yaked on his lap. In my defense, I was 17 and very, very drunk. And he gave me the head push, so he kind of deserved it.” At Niall’s somewhat confused face, she put her hand on the back of her head and mimed someone shoving her face down onto their crotch.

“What a gobshite.”

Kat wrinkled her nose but gave a small smile. “Indeed. But enough about that guy. The point is, the first time I tried it didn’t go super well, so it’s not been something I’ve been interested in trying again with someone I’d just hooked up with or was seeing casually. And this isn't at all related, but not long after that happened, I finally came to terms with the fact that I like girls as well as guys, and Chloe was the only long term relationship I had in college, so, yeah, no real opportunity to develop my beej technique. But I’m willing to learn if you’re willing to teach me. I promise I won’t barf on you.”

“You really don’t have to, Kat, it’s not a big deal.”

“I disagree, Niall, it’s a very big deal.” Kat raised her eyebrows suggestively, placing her hand on his hip bone and eying his erection, then bursting into laughter. 

“Thank you for defendin’ my penis’ honor, ‘preciate it. Although the laughter doesn’t make it seem quite as sincere,” Niall said, but he didn’t look offended. Extremely turned on, but not offended. “You’ve gone down on girls before though, right?”

“Sure, but that doesn’t involve large things hitting the back of my throat. That’s the real issue, it’s not a taste or smell thing or whatever. At least I don't think so. I've tasted semen and while it's not, like, my favorite flavor ever, I don't mind it.”

“So ya _do_ think I'm large, thanks, baby.” Kat just rolled her eyes while Niall continued, folding his arms behind his head as though he had all the time in the world, “Okay, crucial question before we begin: do ya want to swallow or not? Or do ya not want me to finish in your mouth at all?” At that, his composure seemed to break and he scrunched his eyes closed. “Fuck, I can’t talk to ya about this, it’s so hot that I’m gonna last two seconds once ya put your mouth on me.”

“Calm yourself, man. As for your question, I’m not sure. I’d like to try, I think, to swallow. And I’m not completely clueless or anything, I do know some stuff. Obviously, I’ve watched porn and I read _Cosmo_ and shit like that but I haven’t had any actual hands on experience. Or mouth on experience, as it were. So just some tips before I start and a bit of guidance during it should be enough. More than anything, I just wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t be expecting, like, the best blow job ever or anything from me. Hopefully I’ll get to that point, but I’ve gotta start somewhere.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a natural talent, just like everythin’ else. I meant what I said, though, ya really don’t have to. I mean, not gonna lie, like most blokes, I love ‘em, but it’s not a deal breaker if ya don’t wanna. Lots of other stuff we can do.”

“Niall, I promise you, I really, really want to suck your dick.” She moved her hand to the base of his cock and squeezed lightly, looking up at him through her lashes as she bent her head towards him. 

“Sweet Jesus, I’m not gonna make it.” She heard what she could only assume was Niall’s head collapsing back onto the pillow as she took her first tentative lick, looking at it closely as she moved her hand along its length. 

“I don’t have any experience with an uncircumcised penis either -- yours is the first I’ve seen in real life -- so you’ll have to tell me if there’s anything different I should do because of that.” 

“Nah, a dick’s a dick, I’m pretty sure. Ya just have to --” Niall’s words cut off abruptly when Kat sucked the head of his penis into her mouth, moving her tongue over the bottom of it experimentally. 

Kat pulled off for a second, saying “yummy” while looking at him and winking, before placing him into her mouth again, this time trying to take a bit more. She heard Niall swearing above her but she blocked it out, focusing instead on what she was doing. Kat bobbed her head up and down a bit, being careful not to let him hit the back of her throat as she was fairly certain that would be her undoing. She moved her hand up and down his shaft at the same pace as she moved her mouth, glancing up at Niall again to be sure it was being well received.

If Kat hadn’t learned from the first time they’d had sex how Niall’s _I’m extremely aroused and trying desperately not to come too fast_ face looked, she was sure she would be worried that he wasn’t enjoying himself. But since she knew what was going on, she continued what she was doing, trying to somewhat increase the suction she’d been applying.

Remembering something else she’d heard some guys liked, she moved the hand that wasn’t on his cock to just below his shaft, tentatively touching his balls. Flashing her eyes up, she waited until Niall looked at her and nodded, sensing her question, before she rolled them in her hand, pulling gently at first, then with increasing pressure.

Niall’s hips jerked under her, although, thankfully for Kat, they moved more to the side than up. He swore, then panted out, “That’s great, no harder than that. I’m almost there, Kat, fuck. Fair --,” grunt, “-- warnin’ to ya.”

Kat nodded around his dick, deciding at that moment that it would probably be better to have him somewhat deep in her mouth when he came so it would go directly down her throat, rather than risk it all landing on her tongue and the taste possibly making her gag. So she slid her mouth as low as she was comfortable with, sucking and swirling her tongue against him, just as her jaw began to ache. To help speed things up a bit, she carefully slid two fingers onto his perineum, pushing lightly as she moved them in a tight circle, never quite reaching his anus as they hadn’t discussed whether that was something Niall was interested in.

Regardless of his prior-held opinion on ass play, Kat’s touch seemed to be just what was needed as she felt him twitch in her mouth, followed by the sensation of a warm liquid hitting the back of her tongue. Eyes wide, she swallowed as quickly as she could, noticing how his stomach muscles contracted in front of her as he continued to orgasm. She stroked his tummy softly as he finished, then she pulled back, sitting on her heels like before.

Wiping at her bottom lip, Kat knew she had an enormous grin on her face, but she couldn’t help it -- she was as proud as fuck. She hadn’t even slightly gagged and Niall had really seemed to enjoy himself. 

In short, she felt like a total badass at this whole giving head thing.

Niall’s face was hidden behind his hands as he sucked in some deep breaths. “Fuck, I’m sorry I came so fast and didn’t warn ya right before I did. Just kept thinkin’ about how you haven’t done this before and ya looked so fuckin’ hot and your mouth felt so warm and wet and …” he panted out. She noticed that his dick was showing signs of recovery with every word he uttered, stirring where it lay against his hip, still shiny from her mouth. It really was a nice cock.

Kat was very pleased that it was the first dick she'd blown to completion. If that was even the right way to phrase that.

Kind of tired after all her work, Kat moved to lay up by Niall, taking her favorite spot with her head on his pectoral muscle. He curled his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip.

As she lay there, she looked him over. “You’ve really gotten a lot more chest hair in the, what, 10 months I’ve known you. It’s like I witnessed you going through puberty or something. You’re becoming a man.” She wiped away an imaginary tear.

“So ya _were_ checkin’ me out, that time ya brought ice for me knee? I knew it.”

“You’ve got me. It was all an elaborate plan so I could see you in your Calvins.”

“Just proved me point, ya paid attention to the type of pants I was wearin’.”

“Niall, half the population of the world is aware you wear Calvin Klein underwear. They’re hanging out in roughly a billion pictures of you on the internet.”

“Ya sound like me mam. Although I think your figures are off just a bit there.”

Kat hummed in acknowledgement of his point. “Maybe.” She rubbed her hand on his chest as she pondered her next question. “So … just asking, purposely when we’re not looking at each other: yea or nay to an occasional finger in the ass?”

Niall choked. “Uh, yea, I think. Properly lubed, o’ course. You?”

“Same. But I think that's all I'm interested in having in there, at least right now. I might be up for discussing that further in the future though.” She looked up at Niall finally. 

He realized she was waiting for his response and quickly said, “Oh, same for me too, on the first part. But I don't think I'll be changin’ me mind on that one.”

Kat giggled. “Good to know.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, enjoy!

If Kat had thought that watching Niall perform in concert was a turn on before they’d slept together, watching them once she knew he’d be in her bed (or hallway or dressing room or table, wherever the urge hit them) that night after the show was damn near orgasmic. 

The band’s setlist had been switched up for the new tour, to add new songs from Four, and Kat loved that it included some of her new favorites. However, hearing Niall’s incredible voice on “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” early in the setlist, then “Better Than Words,” then “Little White Lies” in the encore (obviously not the only songs that he sounded amazing on -- that would be all of them [although he could be a bit pitchy on the “mine tonight” in “Kiss You,” not that she’d ever say that to him] -- but her personal Niall sexy faves), made it very very difficult for her to dance and sing along in the audience like a normal fan, as though she weren’t dying to pounce on him.

Although she supposed she certainly wasn’t the only person in the crowd to feel that way.

She remembered Nick Grimshaw’s joking comment about throwing her “knickers” on stage at her second ever One Direction concert and knew she wasn’t all that far off from it. 

Except she’d still be in the underwear. 

She was pretty sure security would frown on that though, so she restrained herself. Just barely.

Having everyone finally know about her and Niall, though, made things much easier backstage at least. She’d managed to give him the fastest BJ ever the first night in Osaka, Japan, during that brief period of time between their normal set and the encore. 

She hadn’t been subtle in the slightest, heading back during the final song on the pre-encore setlist, “Story of My Life,” and grabbing Niall the minute she saw him, pulling him into a closet nearby that she’d searched out for just that purpose. She’d practically scaled his body, pulling herself up to his face to kiss him for a quick minute before moving down his body. 

He’d protested that he was gross and sweaty but Kat didn’t care at all, kneeling in front of him while pushing his long shirt up and releasing his cock from his denim skinny jeans, enveloping him in her mouth before he could argue further. He was partially right: he was extra salty with sweat but it somehow wasn’t gross at all; if anything, he was even better tasting than normal. 

In her hurry to get Niall off as fast as possible, Kat inadvertently took him down too far and gagged a couple of times, but she didn’t let it stop her and it must have felt good to Niall, because he came with a shout the last time she’d done it. Bonus, it was loud enough backstage that he didn’t even have to try to be quiet.

Although judging from the looks they got when they emerged -- Niall frantically zipping up when he heard the beginning notes of “You and I” ringing out through the stadium (of course, it would have to be a song that he sang first on) -- even with the increased volume, they may have been overheard. It could have just been completely obvious from their appearance, though -- Kat wasn’t sure what had given them away. And she wasn’t going to ask.

So if any of the crew that had been around hadn’t already known exactly what was going on with her and Niall, they did after that.

She went back out for the encore as she couldn’t deal with all the sly looks she kept getting, but hurried back after the show. The first band member she saw was Zayn and he looked completely exhausted. He and Louis had squeezed in a quick flight to LA between Australia and Japan, which seemed crazy to Kat, so that could have just been why he looked so worn down, but Kat was concerned it might be something more. 

She’d been somewhat avoiding Zayn since the unfortunate incident when he walked in on her and Niall, but seeing the shape he was in, she realized that by doing so, she might have missed something serious.

So she trotted over to him, slinging her arm around his waist. “Hey, Z, nice work out there. Can I keep you company when you get ready to head back to the hotel?”

“Course, babe, always,” Zayn replied, tipping his head back to drain the water bottle he was gripping. He was undeniably subdued, none of his typical post-show adrenaline evident. 

“Let me tell Niall, then I’ll come to your dressing room, cool?”

Zayn smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. _Shit_ , Kat thought, _what is going on_? All she said in response to Zayn, though, was, “Cool.”

Kat let Zayn go and turned to see where Niall had gotten to, finding him talking and laughing with Dan. 

Kat sighed. Of course he was. At least Dan had still been on stage when Kat had pulled Niall into that closet a bit earlier. It would have been even more awkward seeing him immediately after she’d practically publicly fellated her fake boyfriend/real lover. 

Niall snagged her hand when she got close to them and he pulled her in close to his side, kissing the side of her head with a loud smack, then sliding his hand around her waist, stopping to rest roughly on the top of her ass. 

“Hey, uh, Kat,” Dan said when Kat finally looked up and met his eyes.

She tried to give him a sincere smile. “Hi, Dan. Great concert.”

“Thanks. I, uh, better get my stuff all together, get ready to head back. See ya both later.” And he hurried off.

Niall moved Kat in front of him, nuzzling down into her neck, both hands now fully gripping onto her rear. “Some serious sexual tension ‘tween the two of ya, turnin’ me on just bein’ around it.”

“Oh fuck off. We’re so fucking awkward around each other, it’s painful.” She knew Niall was joking but didn’t want to talk about it any longer with him regardless. “Ni, I’m going to go hang with Z for a bit, just come get me when you’re ready to head out?” She moved so she could give him an actual kiss so he’d know she wasn’t actually annoyed with him, nibbling just slightly on his bottom lip. 

Plus she just liked kissing him, now that she could.

He kissed her back, groaning quietly as he pulled back, clearly trying to be good since they were out where everyone could see them. “Sounds good. Try not to shift him, alright?”

“I’ll try to restrain myself,” Kat said, dryly. Of course Niall would make a comment like that immediately following an interaction with Dan. “Can’t promise anything though, Zayn gets so smolder-y when he wants to kiss you, I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist.”

Niall laughed. “That’s a good way of describing it, smolder-y. Really captures that look he gets.”

Kat started to make a smart ass remark back, but hesitated as something occurred to her. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Niall. “Wait … that sounds like someone that knows from experience? Niall, do you have anything you want to tell me?”

He batted his lashes innocently at her. “Whatcha mean, Kat?”

“Niall Horan, have you made out with Zayn?” she asked incredulously.

“Sure,” Niall replied calmly.

Kat sputtered, “What? When? What?!?”

He laughed at her again, not bothered. “Eh, it was early on in the band. When we were both tryin’ to figure out who and what we liked. We were both single -- he was already moonin’ over Liam but Li was with Danielle so he didn’t think he had a chance. Z had been with both guys and girls but I’d only messed around with birds at that point, but o’ course Zayn would make anyone want to give kissin’ him a try.”

Kat well knew that was the truth. “And?”

“He knew what he was doin’, that’s for sure, but it didn’t really do much for me. Was interestin’, though. Different from kissin’ a girl.”

“Just kissing?” Kat asked.

“Mostly. Little over the clothes touchin’ and we were layin’ down at the time so, like, uh …” 

“Dry humping?” Kat filled in, helpfully.

He laughed. “Yeah, bit o’ that. Like I said, though, wasn’t for me. Even bein’ the horny young bastard I was.” 

“Well, maybe you just didn’t like Zayn like that.”

He shrugged, unperturbed. “Nah, kissed a few other blokes here and there over the years, pretty sure I’m just not super interested in lads. Not to say that it’ll always be that way, might meet someone that’d change me mind,” he said, as open minded about this as he was about most things. He reached out and pulled Kat in close again. “But for right now, only one person I’m interested in fuckin’ and she’s standin’ right in front of me, weirdly turned on by the fact that we’ve both kissed the same bloke.”

Kat flushed, because he was right. She wasn’t going to admit to it though, so she wrinkled her nose at him before giving him a light kiss. “No comment. Okay, I’d better go. See you soon.’

Zayn had already had a quick shower when she got to his dressing room and he was crashed out on the couch, waiting for his ride back to their hotel. When Kat walked in, he held up his arms and she snuggled in next to him, a tight fit on the not-so-deep couch but they made it work.

Knowing that their time was limited, Kat asked him right out rather than dancing around the subject. “Zayn, what’s going on with you? I’m sorry it took me so long to notice,” she said, smoothing the wrinkled fabric of his t-shirt.

He sighed, running his fingers lazily through her hair. “I’m just over it. Over it all. Sick of the pace, sick of all the travel, sick of not gettin’ to sing the kind of music I like.”

“You get some time off coming pretty soon though, right?” Kat was surprised to hear how stressed he was, as they’d just started the new tour, not that it had been long at all since the previous tour had ended, as per the typical One Direction scheduling. But Z feeling burnt out at the start of a new tour didn’t bode well at all for the next six months for him.

He snorted. “Like a fuckin’ month and we’ll probably be workin’ on the next album for half of it. I need real time off, Kat. Like months, plural. Or, like, a year, I dunno. But any actual time off at all sounds fuckin’ amazin.”

“But there’s so much good here too, isn’t there? I mean, you still love Liam, right? And the boys?”

“Jesus Kat, course I do, has nothin’ to do with Li or the lads. They’re just more cut out for this than I am. I love singin’ and I love the fans but I’m just … I just don’t think I can do it anymore.”

Kat suddenly realized this was much more than a bad day, or even a bad couple of weeks, that they were talking about. She lifted her head, needing to look at Zayn when she asked, “So … what does that mean?”

Feeling her stare, he moved his eyes to hers. He bit his lip for a second, trying to decide how much to share. He sighed, then said, “When Louis and I went to LA, I met with some people at Sony, y’know, our label in the States, to talk about all this. And, from what they said, they’d let me out of our contract -- out of the band’s contract, I mean. Which I wasn’t sure they’d even consider. But only if I sign on to do a couple albums with them on my own. And I’d be on a different label and division of Sony, not with Syco -- so it wouldn’t be as bad.”

Kat looked at him skeptically, not trying to hide her disbelief.

He nodded, acknowledging her concern before shrugging. “I know it’s not ideal, but I’ve got no choice. This is it. Do this. Or I completely burn out. And I don’t know what that would do to me, like, as a person, y’know? Those feel like my only two options here, Kat. So not really much of a choice.”

She squeezed him a bit so he’d know she was on his side, but she was having a hard time taking in all of this new information. “Zayn, I’m so sorry about how you’re feeling. I honestly can’t believe this is happening. When would you go?”

“End of the tour, if I do. Still haven’t decided for sure, one way or the other. But the lads all know.”

Kat laid her head back on his chest, processing everything he’d said. Niall hadn’t said anything to her, but she wasn’t mad. It wasn’t his news to share. Plus, they hadn’t really been having in-depth conversations lately, what with all the sex. Everything they talked about, regardless of how innocently it may start out, tended to turn into foreplay.

As if he was reading her mind, Zayn said, “Enough about me, sick of talkin’ about all this shit. I’m sick of even thinkin’ about it, to be honest. How are you and Niall, still hot and heavy?”

She slapped his chest. “God, did you really just say that? ‘Hot and heavy’? You’re such an old man.”

Zayn chuckled, which did her heart good to hear. “Answer the question, young lady.”

“I’m older than you, you know. Anyway, things are fine, we’re good. The sex is great, if you really want to know.”

He chuckled, making her head bop lightly where it was still pillowed on his torso, the sound rumbling under her ear. “Glad to hear it. You don’t seem overly thrilled though, what’s that about?”

She shrugged with one shoulder. “Eh.”

“Eh?”

She fiddled with his shirt again so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “I guess it’s just that I know it’s a temporary thing. And it’s just sex. Not a real relationship.”

“It’s about the closest thing to a real relationship I’ve seen Niall in.”

“Well, yeah, that still doesn’t make it real. I’m just here, I’m convenient.”

“He likes ya.”

Kat gave Zayn a look. “I’m fairly certain he likes all his girls.”

He pushed her hair behind her ear, rolling his eyes at her at the same time. “Ya know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do. And I agree: he does care about me. I mean, we get along really great and he really likes me.”

“Not enough though? To make it real?”

She laid her head down on Zayn’s chest again and sighed. Not surprisingly, she and Niall had grown closer since they became physically intimate, there was no question about that. But there hadn’t been any shift or change in his behavior towards her that gave her any indication that he was starting to feel like they could have an actual boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. 

And Kat had been paying very close attention, so there was little chance she’d missed something.

So she was being completely honest when she responded to Zayn, her voice sad and small, “I don’t think so.”

*

On the way back to the hotel, a very tired Kat checked her email on her phone, expecting the typical junk. 

Which was what she found. Mostly.

Tucked in between a Gap sale announcement and a Goodreads message updating her on what her friends were reading, Kat saw an email titled “Interview Request” from what looked like an actual real life person.

Her breath caught in her throat as she read the text of the message: a principal at a school she’d subbed at earlier in the school year had a first grade position opening up due to a teacher retirement, and the administrator was asking if Kat would interested in interviewing for the job.

Which, um, of course she was.

After she’d read it through a few times to be sure what it was really saying, that it wasn’t some figment of her exhausted imagination, she grabbed onto Niall’s arm beside her and shook it, showing him the email. And he read it and got excited as well, so apparently it was a real thing.

The minute they walked through the door of their hotel room, Niall threw her up and over his shoulder, slapping her on the ass, saying, “This calls for some celebration sex.”

“I haven’t gotten the job yet, Niall, maybe we should save the celebrating until I actually do,” she said as sternly as she could, given that she was upside down and speaking directly to Niall’s butt.

He tossed her onto the bed where she landed with a bounce.“Nope, you’re gettin’ it, no question. And I’m gettin’ it too, right now,” he said with a wink, pulling his shirt off right after.

“Ugh, you’re the worst,” she groaned, but started unbuttoning her shorts just the same.

Before she could get too far into taking her pants off, he bent down for a kiss, looming over her as he joined her on the bed, his arms caging her in as she leaned back onto the pillows. His hands slid under her shirt, palms warm as he made quick work of getting her top over her head. 

He moved to lay on top of her again, but then pulled back and sat back on his heels, a cloudy look darkening his face. “Fuck, I'm out of condoms, ya don't happen to have any, do ya?”

“No, I'm out too, I’m sorry. But it's okay, like I’ve told you, I'm on the pill. We're fine.” She reached for his fly but he grabbed her hands, his face showing his discomfort.

And that was it. She’d had enough.

Kat scooted out from under him, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them, feeling incredibly exposed although she’d been much more naked around him in the last few weeks. “Seriously, do you have chlamydia or something and are just not telling me? Because that’s extremely uncool. To say the least.” She was teasing but his behavior was causing her to grow more concerned by the minute.

“What? No, ‘course not,” he scoffed but then ruined it by looking away guiltily, although Kat was fairly certain it wasn't because he was hiding a secret STI. 

When she continued to look at him, not speaking, he sighed, running his hand over his face but still not making eye contact. “It's just been drilled into me head never to have sex without a condom, that ya have to rely on yourself for protection.”

While that was a reasonable and wise philosophy and, in fact, one Kat adhered to herself, she suddenly realized what was going unsaid. “You don't trust me, that's what this is about, isn't it?”

“I'm not in a place where I can have a kid, Kat, ya know that. It would fuck everything up,” he explained to the duvet, not really answering her question.

“Uh, I don’t want to have kids yet either, Niall. I’m only 22 for fuck’s sake. Wait, do you think I'd get myself pregnant on purpose to trap you? That's what you think of me?” she asked.

That had his head finally whipping over towards her. “No, ‘course I don't think that. But you can be forgetful and even if ya miss the pill one day, things can happen. Or if, ya know, ya throw it up or somethin’.”

Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Oh, because I have an eating disorder, I just throw up all the time, is that what it is? I’m not fucking bulimic, Niall. Anorexic, okay, but not bulimic. There’s a difference.”

He immediately reached out and wrapped a large hand around her ankle. “What? No, fuck, that’s not what I meant at all. Jesus, Kat, I just meant like if you’re sick or hungover or somethin’ like that. Okay?” He thumb ran soothingly over her ankle bone, like he was trying to calm a startled pet.

She believed him, calming down instantly. Clearly that was one area where she was more than a little touchy. “Okay.”

He stared at her intently. “I swear that’s all I meant, Kat. And I just can't take the risk.”

Kat nodded, looking away, her voice quiet when she said, “I see.”

“I'm this way with everyone I sleep with, it's got nothin’ to do with you.”

The reminder that she was just another fuck to him was like a punch to the gut. “Well phew, thank God I'm just like every other random groupie you sleep with.”

“That's not fair, ya know I don't do that.”

“No, you have pre-arranged non-groupies all across the world, that's totally different," she said, then pushed over towards the edge of the bed. "I'm going to go sleep in the other room, we can talk tomorrow morning." They’d never informed the band’s management that they didn’t each need their own room anymore (there was no way in hell Kat would tell any of those people that her and Niall were actually sleeping together; besides the fact that she pretty much hated them, it was none of their business) so more often than not, they still had suites with two bedrooms. Which made Kat feel a bit bad as it was wasteful but she was suddenly quite glad they had another room for her to escape to at the moment.

Niall reached out to her, running his hand down her back. “Kat, don't leave like this. We can do other stuff; we can both get off if ya want. Or at least let me take care of ya, alright?”

Right. Because this was all about sex. And he thought she was this angry because she was that desperate to have sex with him without a condom, when it was really about so much more. 

He didn't trust her, not any more than he trusted any of the other people he slept with regularly. He respected her enough to be monogamous for their time together as she'd asked him to do that, but she was stupid to think that it made anything any different. It didn't, not really. Not anything that mattered. 

Kat knew then that despite the way she came into this, thinking that she'd be happy just having a short term sexual relationship with him, that that would be enough, she now wanted so much more. She wanted this to be real, she wanted to matter to him.

She knew that he liked her, that he cared about her. That he'd be sad when she left. But that was it. And to his credit, he'd never implied anything else. It wasn't his fault that she'd gotten so far ahead of herself. 

There was only a few day left before she was heading home again. And after that, there were only two months left of her contract. She needed to decide right then how she was going to play this. There wasn't anything to be gained, in Kat's mind, by making a scene (er, making any more of a scene) and being dramatic about it. She should just enjoy what little time left she had with him and leave it at that. 

But once she was gone, that was it. She knew from comments/hints Niall had made -- about their lives post-contract completion -- that he would love to hook up with her again in the future when he was in the area. Like she could be his new regular mid-America hook up. But Kat knew that wasn't something she could do. She couldn't share him, couldn't pretend that was enough for her. Not when she cared more for him than she ever had anyone she'd legitimately dated. 

_Wait, what? Where had that thought come from?_

“Kat, hello? Where’d ya go?” Niall tipped her chin up, trying to meet her eyes. He’d scooted over to her side without her noticing, when she’d been thinking.

She blinked, still reeling from her unexpected moment of clarity, and looked over at him. “Sorry, lost in thought there for a minute. It’s fine, I’m not mad or anything but I’m not really in the mood anymore. But let’s make sure to get some more condoms tomorrow, so this doesn’t happen again, alright?” She smiled at him before giving him a quick kiss. He kept looking at her, sensing there was more she wasn’t telling him but he was smart enough not to press her. “And I’ll stay here, I’m sorry. Was just thinking we might both want a little space, but if you’re fine, I’m fine.”

They changed into their pajamas -- well, Kat did, Niall just stripped down to his boxers -- making quiet conversation for a bit before they curled up next to each other in bed, Niall spooning her like most nights, saying goodnight before tenderly kissing her shoulder, like she was precious to him.

As she lay there, trying not to cry while also attempting to quiet her screaming mind, Kat realized that it was the first time (since they’d started having sex, that is) that they were just sleeping together.

Without actually sleeping together first. 

*

A few mornings later, the day they were both flying out of Tokyo, Kat to home and Niall (as well as the rest of the guys) to London, Kat came to consciousness slowly, not sure if she was truly awake or if she was still dreaming when she felt hot breath on the nape of her neck. She was lying on her stomach with a warm weight hovering over her back and she could feel her underwear being carefully peeled down her legs. She drowsily turned her head as far as her neck would allow, catching Niall’s bright eyes where he sat, on his knees between her legs. 

“Oh thank God you’re finally awake,” he said, smiling at her then bending down and peppering her back with kisses. The sweetness of the gesture was somewhat spoiled by the fact that he was also simultaneously grinding his cock into the cleft of her ass.

“Finally?” she asked, her voice rough from sleep. 

“Yeah, been awake for ages. Woke up hard and rubbin’ on your back, just like that time at your parents’ house. Difference is, this time I can do something about it. Well, I could if ya wake up and want to as well. So now that ya are awake, are ya up for it?” He sounded young and giddy, which was a lot first thing in the morning, but, on him, still adorable.

Kat laughed and pushed her bottom up into Niall before voicing her consent as well, “Sure, if you don’t mind that I’m still waking up a bit. Don’t expect too much from me, is all I’m saying.”

“Kitten, I don’t need ya to do much at all. Let Nialler take care of ya.”

“Nevermind, I’m not having sex with someone that refers to themselves in the third person. And by ‘Nialler’ nonetheless,” Kat teased, starting to army crawl to the other side of the bed, pretending she was trying to get away from him.

“Ya don’t mean that, baby,” Niall said, lifting her backside up with two strong hands on her hips. Kat got her knees under her just as Niall slid into her, causing them to both groan. 

As Kat started waking up and responding to Niall’s movements with breathy moans, he began to fuck into her harder and faster. She loved having sex in this position, he felt so deep inside her, his dick hitting all the right spots. But she knew he was ahead of her, knew his sex sounds well enough now to know he was about four, maybe five strokes from coming. And she wasn’t about to be left hanging, not if she could help it. 

Dropping down onto her elbows, she moved one hand between her legs, touching herself and Niall where they were connected, a finger pressing on either side of his cock as he slid in and out of her. “God, that feels amazin’, Kat, makes ya feel even tighter than ya normally do.” 

Encouraged by his response, Kat carefully slid her pointer finger into herself at the same time Niall was pushing back into her and she groaned at the exquisite stretch of it. 

Niall clearly shared her appreciation for the feeling. “Oh fuck, Kat,” he panted, “fuck fuck fuck.”

The desperation in his voice reminded Kat of the whole reason she had her hand there in the first place, so she moved her fingers back up to her clit, circling the tiny bundle of nerves rapidly. Aided greatly by Niall’s increasingly fast strokes into her, she quickly found herself caught up to his level of arousal, thinking she might just beat him to the finish line after all.

But when he tensed behind her, fingers digging into her waist, she knew that despite her best efforts, she’d still managed to lose. 

That didn’t mean, however, that she wasn’t going to finish the race. Voice pleading, she ordered him, “Stay right there, Niall, don’t fucking move.” He obeyed and she circled her hips, grinding back onto his still mostly-hard dick, her fingers continuing to tease her most sensitive spot until she was shaking, her legs quivering underneath her so badly that she completely collapsed as she came, her words completely muffled by the pillow her face landed on.

The bed shook as Niall collapsed beside her, flinging a heavy arm onto her back.

Several minutes of deep breathing later, Kat managed to roll onto her side. Nial, hearing her move, did the same, so they were facing each other. After making sleepy faces at each other for a bit, Niall pulled Kat towards him, folding her into his arms and kissing her, his tongue sliding into her mouth and lazily exploring. 

“You wanna know something I like about you?” she said when they finally pulled apart, only sounding slightly out of breath. 

“Of course, I always love hearin’ good things about meself,” he joked.

“You’re an enthusiastic orgasmer,” she told him. Niall barked out a surprised laugh. Whatever he’d been expecting her to say, it clearly wasn’t that. “Some guys, they’re all quiet and mysterious about when they’re coming, but you, you put it all out there and I really like that. Makes me feel good about myself, truthfully.”

“Never thought about keepin’ it a secret, I guess, but thanks. Glad ya like it.”

“I think some men try to be quiet about it, worried they came too fast or too soon or whatever, like somehow we won’t notice it’s happened. As though a person could somehow miss _that_.” She shook her head, making another face. “But it’s not exactly something you can keep a secret, so it’s kinda stupid to try to hide it. I mean, even with a condom, a person tends to notice when a dick is suddenly much less firm.” 

She moved a hand to his chest, sliding it over his pec. “I also love your tiny nipples. Plus how sensitive they are.”

“I’m a massive fan of your nipples as well, so that works out perfectly.” Somewhat mirroring her actions, he took one of her breasts in his palm, thumbing over her nipple gently. She shivered.

He bent his head down but held eye contact with her as he put his tongue out flat, watching her reaction as he licked over her delicate skin before blowing cool air over her. Kat grabbed at the back of his head, too tired to do much else, although she assumed he wasn’t quite up for round two yet either and was just messing around. 

A question occurred to her as he became more focused on what he was doing. “Does it bother you when I touch myself when we're having sex?” she asked.

His head popped up, which hadn’t been her desired reaction at all. “Jesus no, it's sexy as fuck,” he said with no hesitation. He looked at her curiously. “Would ya have quit doin’ it if I’d said ‘yes’?”

“Probably not but I might have reconsidered continuing to sleep with you,” she said truthfully, running her fingers through his hair. 

“Jesus, I didn't realize what a loaded question that was, glad I answered right,” he said and jokingly wiped his brow. “Honestly though, ya really shouldn't fuck anyone who minds that. Doesn't say anythin’ good about ‘em, clearly pretty insecure.”

“Agree. Lucky for me, you like it.”

“Lucky for me too,” he said, turning his attention back to her chest. Kat lazily reached an arm over to the bedside table and grabbed her phone, tossing it back down lightly after she’d checked the time. She grabbed his head and carefully tugged so he lifted his mouth from her breast, eyebrows raised in question.

“I’d better get in the shower. Need to leave in an hour to get there in plenty of time for our flights.” Niall flopped back on the bed with a disappointed groan, rubbing his hands over his face.

Kat rolled out of bed and headed for the ensuite, calling over her shoulder, “You can join me though, if you’d like,” and she wasn’t even through the bathroom door when he collided with her back. She squealed as he wrapped his arms around her midsection, moving her aside. 

“I’ll get the water goin’, you get the towels ready, woman.”

*

Home and (mostly) adjusted to the ever-delightful time change/jet lag combination, Kat was lounging in her room, trying to distract herself from her nerves regarding her interview the next day. Becca was out on a date that she wouldn’t really tell Kat anything about. Which meant that she must really be interested in the guy, so Kat was very intrigued, to say the least. She hoped the date was going well. Although she supposed she’d only really hear more about it if it didn’t go well. That was just how Becca rolled. 

And Kat totally respected that. Even if it drove her crazy. She wanted the dirt, dammit. 

Kat was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram when she came across a goofy picture Niall had just posted, back from when the band was rehearsing in Sydney. So before she even knew it, she’d fallen down a black hole in the Internet, going all the way to the beginning of his feed. From there, she worked her way back to present day and as she did, she couldn’t help but notice how he kept getting increasingly hotter and hotter as time went on. 

So hot, in fact, that it somewhat gave her an idea for how to pass some time and get her mind off the next day. She immediately jumped up to shut and lock her door just in case Becca’s date would be so disastrous that it wouldn’t even last a full hour. 

And then she settled back into her comfy bed, kicking off her slippers as well as her sleep shorts. She kept her undies on, just for a bit anyway. If only to heighten the anticipation. 

She was fully lost in her imagination, mere moments away from ditching her underwear when the ringing of her iPhone from its position on the bed next to her (she’d dropped it once she no longer needed the visual reminder) startled her back into real life. 

And, of course, it was the very subject of her naughty thoughts. 

Kat debated whether or not to answer, but figured since it was often hard for them to connect when they were apart, she shouldn’t risk not getting to talk to him, all because she was, uh, otherwise occupied. 

She took a second to remove her hand from her pants and take a deep breath, then answered, “Hey.”

She clearly failed at sounding composed. “Did I catch ya out for a run?”

“No!” Kat said quickly, then cursed herself. It would have been the perfect excuse, damn her natural defensiveness when it came to anything food or fitness related. “I, uh, I mean, I was just, like, downstairs and I had to run up to get my phone and, like, …”

“Kat, why are you lyin’?” Niall asked, his voice concerned. “ _Were_ ya workin’ out? I won’t be mad.”

“No, I swear I wasn’t.” Jesus, this was quickly turning into a shit show.

“Then what else would ya be lyin’ about …” He trailed off. “Wait, were ya … were ya touching yourself?”

Her silence answered for her. She was officially the worst liar in the history of ever.

Niall’s voice turned immediately husky. “Baby, ya _were_. Were ya thinkin’ of me?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

He groaned. “Fuck, that’s sexy. Well, don’t let me interrupt ya, feel free to go back to what ya were doin’.”

“I can’t … I can’t do that.”

“Why not, Kitten? I could join ya, if that’d make ya feel less bashful.”

“Oh my God, no,” she groaned, although the idea was kinda hot. She just wasn’t sure she could really do it. She’d never been in a long distance relationship so she’d never had to do the whole phone sex thing. 

“No?” he asked carefully, like he didn’t want to push her.

“Well, maybe?” Kat said, then put her hand over her face. Why was she being such a prude about this? Doing this -- touching herself -- with Niall on the other end of the line would be that much hotter, wouldn’t it? I mean, she wouldn’t need a fantasy, or a memory, she had the real thing. Not in person, but the next best thing.

“Maybe? Well, maybe I could FaceTime ya, convince ya that way?”

“I don’t know, Niall …” she replied, trailing off. Could she really do this?

And then her phone was ringing into her ear, as apparently when she was contemplating, Niall had hung up on her. Only to call her right back via FaceTime.

She answered with her hand still over her face, still half embarrassed over the whole thing. She held the phone up over her face and to the left side a bit, resting an elbow on a pillow she’d moved beside her for just that purpose so her bicep wouldn’t get tired.

“Now, Kitten,” Niall cautioned on the screen, his eyebrows bouncing up and down, “I’d be careful with that hand, don’t know where it’s been.”

Kat flipped him off with said hand. “You’re a pig, Niall Horan. And I do know exactly where that hand was, thank you very much. And I wiped it off before I answered the phone, alright?”

“Just wishin’ I was where that hand was.”

“Me too,” she whispered. 

“Why don’t ya show me?” he asked, and she finally noticed his headboard in the background as he moved slightly. He was shirtless, perhaps fully naked although she couldn’t tell from where he was holding his phone, at chest level and tilted up at his smiling face. 

Kat settled back into the pillows behind her head, thinking, as she moved her hand down her body. “I think what I’m comfortable with is just having the phone up here, by my face, if that’s okay?”

“Course it is, whatever ya want. Just want to see and hear ya.”

“Well, that I can do. Are you … are you touching yourself right now?”

“Have been since I saw your face. Do ya want me to prove it?”

“Um, sure? But come back to your face when you’re done, okay?”

He nodded and then the view changed, as he not-so-smoothly panned the phone’s camera to show his crotch, where he was moving his hand over his cock, his grip firm but slow. 

After a moment, his face reappeared on the screen.“Sorry about that, not so great at holdin’ me phone with m’ right hand but m’ left’s otherwise occupied, ya see.”

“I did see,” Kat murmured, still thinking of what he’d shown her, how his hand had looked moving over his skin, remembered how his dick felt in her own hand when she’d touched him in the past, thick and hot.

“You’re gettin’ all flushed, baby, it’s so sexy.”

“Yeah?” she said as she looked at him on the screen. “You’re getting pretty red in the face yourself there, Irish.”

“I’m sure I am,” he replied, a rosy bloom high on his cheeks. He closed his eyes for a second, concentrating on the motion of his hand. “Tell me what you’re doin’. Are ya usin’ anythin’ or is it just your hand?”

“Just me. I’m not super into toys, really. Learned how to come just using my fingers and that’s always been good enough for me.”

“Well, that suits me down to the ground. Because I have fingers too, if you’ll remember.”

“I do remember. And you’re really, really good with them. I love your calluses, they feel amazing on my … on my clit,” she forced out, feeling a bit awkward about the sexy talk but knowing she needed to just go with it. “Plus, when you touch me, you do it differently from the way I touch myself, so it’s …” she trailed off, losing her train of thought for a moment as she imagined his hands on her, sending a thrilling surge through her gut, her lower belly tightening. Kat could tell she was getting close and hoped Niall was too, but it was hard to tell through the phone screen. That is, when she even remembered to look over at him.

“Baby … baby, just let me see ya, just for a second … please, tip the camera a bit, just a little, I want to see what you’re doin’,” Niall’s raspy voice pleaded.

Kat closed her eyes tight for a second, trying not to overthink it. And then she did what he asked, any insecurity vanishing when she heard him groan and the rustling sound of his hand moving faster on his body. Then she saw the look on his face when she brought the phone back up by her head. “Oh fuck, Kitten, ya look so fuckin’ hot, touchin’ yourself like that. Jaysus, your body, I’m so fuckin’ close.”

“Me too, Niall, me too.” She bit her lip and dipped her fingers down to her opening to collect some of the moisture that was gathering there, before sliding back up again and swirling her fingers faster, applying a bit more pressure. Her eyes squeezed shut as she heard Niall cursing and panting beside her, then she pushed her hips into the bed and came with a groan of her own. Seconds later, she heard Niall shout and then he was quiet as well, both of them catching their breath, half a world away from each other.

Kat moved her phone up over her head again, to see Niall smiling lazily at her, his hair wild around his face and sweat on his brow, looking the very definition of post-coital. 

“For the record, I was completely willin’ to lie to ya if I came way before ya did. Was plannin’ on doin’ that if I had to, honestly. Thankfully I was able to hold out,” he confessed, giving her a wicked smile. 

Kat burst into laughter, then accidentally dropping the phone on her face with a thud and an “ow.”

Niall’s own laugh echoed up at her from somewhere in the covers. 

As far as sex-related injuries go, Kat figured this would be an easy enough one to explain away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, the sex chapters take me a lot longer. They just do. Sorry 'bout that.
> 
> Hope it was worth the wait.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After lots and lots of delay, here it is, the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! :)

Kat had a new favorite city and that city was Singapore. She was flown there for a couple of days, where she fought through her intense jet lag to explore the city with Niall -- it was so clean and safe-feeling and gorgeous and the weather was perfect -- before the band’s concert there, then they all flew to Bangkok for another concert, then she was flying home again five days later. Not a thing she would willingly do herself as it was 20 plus hours of travel time each way from Nebraska, but she loved getting to see a part of the world she’d never experienced before. 

And it helped her keep her mind off the fact that she hadn’t heard back from the school about her interview, although the fact that she hadn’t gotten a rejection letter yet either (she made Becca check the mail for it everyday and report to her) kept her hopeful. 

Plus, spending more time with Niall was pretty great all on its own. Their relationship had settled into the comfortable familiarity they’d had once they quit hating each other, although without the tension of all that unresolved sexual frustration. 

So, coupled with the sex that somehow kept getting better, it was all together pretty fabulous. 

Lounging in bed early one morning, Niall’s head pillowed on Kat’s stomach as he lay perpendicular to her reclined form, both flipped through their phones in companionable silence, occasionally commenting to each other about what they came across on their social media sites.

“Did you hear that Ed and Athina broke up?” Kat asked Niall, reminded that she hadn’t spoken to him about it when she saw an email reminding her of the upcoming Sheeran concert she and Becca had tickets to in June. 

“Think I heard some rumors ‘bout it but didn’t know if there was any truth to it.”

“It’s true, actually. Athina texted me about it, she’s pretty upset about the whole thing.”

Niall set down his phone and turned his full attention to Kat. “So it was Ed’s doin’, then?”

“No, she was the one to suggest the split, actually. I think she got fed up with all of it, from what she said. Like all the traveling and the partying and everything. And, reading between the lines, maybe Ed was drinking more than she’d like? Seems like she was wanting to settle down more than he was, which is a bummer. Just bad timing for them -- I know she still really cares about him. And vice versa. Maybe they’ll be able to stay friends.”

“Does that actually ever work for anyone, the whole ‘stayin’ friends’ thing?” Niall asked, although he seemed somewhat distracted as he started to run his fingers under her shirt where it had ridden up. 

Kat tried to remember what he’d asked. “You seem to be friends with all your exes, you tell me.”

“Probably half the people you’re thinkin’ are me exes I never really dated, but I do stay friendly with people I’ve hooked up with in the past, mostly because I’m honest with them from the get-go that it’s nothin’ serious. I don’t mess around with people that don’t feel the same, not lookin’ to hurt anyone or anythin’.”

Good ole Niall, a gentleman through and through, even when he’s fucking his way around the world. “Yeah, that would help.”

“You friends with any of your exes?” Niall’s curious hand had now almost reached her chest, and she caught her breath as he lightly moved the backs of his fingers on the underside of her right breast. 

“Um… well, obviously not Chloe, if you’ll remember that straight-up-bitch text she sent to me forever ago, when you and I first went public, but I _am_ friends with my highschool boyfriend. Like, Facebook friends-level, we don’t hang out or anything. But that’s not because of any bad blood or animosity or anything -- we just don’t really have anything in common now that we’re not both trapped in our hometown. He’s getting married, actually, some time this summer, and I’ll probably be invited to the wedding. So clearly we’re not enemies or anything.”

“That’s nice,” Niall murmured. Although she was fairly certain he wasn’t really listening to her anymore, his attention focused on the movements of his hand. She couldn’t blame him, she was starting to lose the thread of the conversation herself.

“But being friends only really works if neither of you has feelings anymore, otherwise it would just be painful,” Kat said just before his hand fully covered her breast and then nothing really was said for quite some time, certainly not on that topic.

All too soon, it was time for Kat to leave once again. On the incredibly long flight home, she had the sudden realization that the concerts she’d just seen might be the last One Direction concerts she ever attended. 

Which was so fucking depressing she couldn’t let herself think about it.

*

When Kat got the call the following week from the school, with the news that they were offering her the position that she had interviewed for, before she could even process what she was doing, she had Niall on the phone, squealing to him about how excited she was, saying that while she’d known the interview had went well, she still didn’t think she’d actually get it (of course Niall said he knew she would…).

Not her parents. Not her best friend. Niall. Niall was her first call. The first person she’d wanted to tell some of the best news she’d gotten in her life.

So … yeah. She was in deep. But she didn’t know quite what to do about it. She was contractually obliged to be with him for another two months, possibly longer if the band’s management asked her to extend her contract, like they’d done in the past for Eleanor and Sophia. 

Not that _that_ was going to happen. Kat and Niall hadn’t spoken about the possibility of her continuing on in her role as his girlfriend at all -- Kat had barely let herself even think about it, not sure that she should consider doing it if they offered, nor if they’d want her when she’d be working in the fall and therefore unable to be at their constant beck and call. 

So it was one of the many things that Kat wasn’t thinking about at the moment. Things like:  


  * Just exactly how much she liked Niall;
  * How little time left she had with him;
  * And really just a bunch of stuff along that line



The next day, Kat woke up to the doorbell ringing and when she finally managed to get herself together enough to answer it, she opened the door to find a small pair of legs being dwarfed by a beautiful, but enormous, bouquet of flowers.

Kat actually gasped when she saw it, it was so lovely. And she really wasn’t even that big of a flower person. 

Then she promptly grabbed them from the visibly struggling delivery person, who Kat discovered once the flowers were moved, was a rather adorable pixie of a woman, and ushered her into their front hall, so she could grab a tip for her before she sent her on her way.

Kat smiled as she read the card from Niall (because of course they were from him, as no one else she knew had the GDP of a developing nation to spend on flowers), biting her lip and shaking her head at what he’d written (or, rather, had the salesperson write for him, which was mortifying to even think about). 

Being the good hired girlfriend that she was, after she’d texted Niall a personal thank you (she knew he was busy so she didn’t try calling), she took a photo of the bouquet and posted it to instagram:

**_kathamilton92_** _: don’t know what i’m more excited about, my new job for next fall or this insane bouquet of flowers from my guy (spoiler alert: it’s the job but the flowers are pretty dang awesome as well, as is the man). Thank you SO much, babe! And nice touch with the belles of Ireland flower choice. #alwaysgettingapluginforireland #igetityoureirish #weALLgetit #irelandisthebestest_

As always when she posted something specific to Niall on social media, Kat’s notifications promptly blew up. Since she wasn’t doing anything else besides gazing at her gorgeous flowers, she casually looked at some of the comments, not taking too much stock in them as a rule but always curious to see what people were saying. 

_Fuck. Oh fuck._

Kat had taken the picture quickly and not thought much of it but she hadn’t thought to remove the note card on them from Niall. Even if she had thought about it, she would never have thought that anyone could make out the text on it, it was so damn tiny.

But apparently the 1D fandom was made up of detectives and super sleuths, as they’d somehow enlarged the card enough to read it for themselves, writing out the entire text of the note in the comments. Where it was being discussed in detail.

> **1ddetective** : In case anyone was interested, the note says: Congrats on the job, Kitten! Lucky kids that get to have you leading their class (trying very hard not to make a “hot for teacher” joke). See you soon, can’t wait. Niall
> 
> **MaryJo12211** : omg he calls her KITTEN?!? ::dead::
> 
> **oliviabolivia95** : obligatory “it’s fake” comment
> 
> **susiequeue** : Nice, way to write the note yourself and position it so we can all see it.
> 
> **sjones12** : goals af
> 
> **idowhatiwantfu** : At least it’s not a picture of you for once, you fat-faced fuck.
> 
> **missushoran** : omg, i die.
> 
> **cbj1220** : This is the cutest thing in the history of ever
> 
> **larrytilidie** : always knew nialler’d be the best boyfriend ever, thanks for proving it. brb, gonna go kill myself
> 
> **ilovenialler00** : Congrats on teh job kat! you’re awesome!
> 
> **hazandlou4eva** : yawn. when are they going to elounor this relationship already? i’m booooored

Knowing there was fuck-all she could do about it now that it was out there (she’d already learned that screenshots lived forever in this fandom, and she was quite certain someone already had one), she sent Niall another text, this one apologizing that she hadn’t thought to remove it. She was fairly certain he wouldn’t care, anyway. She also texted Marnie, just so she was aware what was going on. But if anything, management would love it. Marnie would probably be impressed about how well Niall was doing with this whole fake boyfriend thing. 

Kat drug herself back upstairs, now that she was fully awake for the day (it’s funny how being terrified will really wake a person up), she figured she might as well get showered and dressed. 

Once clean, she put on the locket Niall had gotten her for Christmas, as she did every day. Doing so reminded her that she’d been meaning to look it up online, thinking that the company that made it would probably have other cute stuff, possibly something she could buy for her mom’s birthday next month. 

Plopping down on her bed with her laptop, she Google image searched “north star necklace” and found it quickly, clicking on the link. 

It was over $2,000. 

Kat had assumed it was similar to the Dogeared necklace his mom had gotten her, as she’d bought necklaces from that company as gifts before for friends, all priced around 50 bucks. 

She’d clearly assumed wrong. And Niall hadn’t helped her; she remembered him describing the necklace as “something little” when they exchanged gifts. 

Fucker.

After that, Kat couldn’t help herself, she had to look up the purse.

$4,500. And Kat had thought Sophia’s bag was expensive. The wallet, at least, was less than a thousand -- a total steal. 

Since she was just doing this thing, Kat looked up the bracelet. The fucking Cartier bracelet. That was literally always on her wrist because she couldn’t take it off.

Becca came home when Kat was trying not to hyperventilate. 

“In my room,” Kat called, to Becca’s yelled question. 

“Did you know, that all told, I’ve been given over 10 grand in gifts because of this thing?” Kat said when Becca walked in. “And that’s just gifts, nevermind the actual money I’ve been and still will be paid.”

“Hello to you too, you fancy bitch.”

“Sorry, hi, hope work was okay. I’m freaking out a bit.” Becca plopped onto the end of the bed, leaning back onto her arms. 

“So… typical day?” Becca teased, then asked, “But why? Seems like a good thing, you’re getting even more from doing this thing then you thought you would. That never happens.”

Kat sighed. “I don’t know why it’s bothering me.”

“Look, I get that this entire thing -- and by that I mean getting paid to act like you’re someone’s girlfriend -- has made you uncomfortable the whole time but just … I don’t know, sell the stuff when you’re all done and donate the money to charity. Or, like, give it all to me or something. Whatever makes you feel better.”

“I could do that, I guess.”

“But you won’t, because even though you don’t like it and it gives you a bad feeling, it’s still connected to Niall and I highly doubt you’ll ever get rid of anything he gave you, even if it’s not even really from him.”

“Who’s the bitch now, jeez?” Kat said with a laugh, Becca shaking her head and smiling at her. 

Kat’s phone dinged and she glanced down at it out of habit, then did a double take and gasped, grabbing it and opening.

“Oh my God, speaking of bitches, you know my least favorite 1D girlfriend, the horrible Eleanor?”

“‘Course I know her, you’re always complaining about her.”

“Well, she’s gone. Louis just sent me a text and they broke up!”

“‘Broke up’?” Becca asked, using air quotes. Kat was careful not to actually tell Becca that any of the other 1D girlfriends were not, in fact, real girlfriends, but Becca, not being an idiot, knew the score regardless. 

Kat didn’t respond to Becca’s hint, insteading shaking head as she said, “This is amazing news, I’ll never have to see her and her snotty scowl ever again!”

“Speaking of breaking up…” Becca prodded.

Kat groaned. “Oh God, not you too, don’t ask me about it.”

“‘Me too?’” Becca asked, confused. 

“Yeah, I’ve gotten a million texts from people about Zayn. That’s what you’re talking about, right?” A few days after Kat had left, shockingly, so had Zayn, heading back to London and citing “stress” as his reason. The band had done a couple of concerts without him, which was hard for Kat to even imagine, but she was sure it made the most sense considering the logistical nightmare of trying to reschedule all those dates. 

“Yeah, sorry. Heard them talking on the radio about it and you haven’t said anything…” Becca queried, her voice careful.

“I’m totally teasing, I really don’t mind you asking. As far as I know, he’s just taking a break. Hopefully he’ll be back next week.”

“Hopefully?”

Kat sighed, then continued, “I swear I don’t know anything, but between you and me, he was super burnt out when I talked to him in Japan. And he didn’t seem any better when I saw him last week. Poor guy.”

“I’m sure it’s not an easy life, from everything you’ve said. Does he have something else going on that the general public doesn’t know about, like problems with his fiance or family or whatever?”

“Not that I know of. And it’s definitely not drugs or anything, like some of the media has hinted at. Dude smokes weed every once in awhile like most people we know but I’ve never seen him do anything stronger than that. He doesn’t even drink that much, really. I think he’s just a more introverted person and their schedule is so grueling that it’s just worn him down. I don’t know how they’re not _all_ burning out, really.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Hope he’s okay.”

“Yeah, me too.” 

Kat’s phone chimed again, with an incoming text from Marnie, asking her to keep her schedule clear for the next week. Which Kat could easily do. Apologizing to Becca, Kat quickly replied to Marnie to tell her so, then shot a message to Niall as well.

> **Sounds like they might be having me come out again soon, which is weird so soon, isn’t it? Why didn’t they just have me stay?**
> 
> _lots of shit goin on right now, i’ll call later and we can talk about it miss ya_
> 
> **Miss you too**

Kat relayed what he said to Becca, wondering exactly what was going on but hoping for the best for her friends’ sake.

*

Kat’s phone buzzed beside her on the couch and she groaned. If she got one more text from one her friends asking what had happened with Zayn, why he’d left the band and if she’d known, she was going to scream.

Rather than respond to any of them (nosy bastards, anyway), she picked up her phone and texted the man himself, wanting him to know that she was there for him if he needed a non-band member friend at the moment. 

> **You need me? I'm there in 10 hours if you do. Thanks to you guys, I've got tons of frequent flyer miles just waiting to be used!**

He didn’t respond immediately, not surprisingly, so Kat instead texted Niall.

> **Did you see Ed and Barbara Palvin hung out in Australia? Revenge for the whole Ellie thing or what? :)**
> 
> _Ha, don’t think so -- I actually hooked em up, she doesn’t know anyone there and i thought they’d get on_
> 
> **Nice work matchmaker**
> 
> _Don’t think it’s like that but ya never know, i guess ._

Feeling like she wanted to get out of the house, Kat messaged her favorite man that actually lived in her time zone, hoping he’d oblige her and help keep her mind off her One Direction-specific worries.

Thankfully, he was free and she got her wish, a night out with drinks and dancing at her favorite club in Omaha, The Max, with Eric.

“Ugh, there are way too many straight people in here. No offense,” he said, looking over the crowd disdainfully from their position by the main bar.

“No offense? Why would I be offended? I’m not straight, jerkface,” Kat said, giving him a side eye. 

“You so are.” At Kat’s annoyed look, he continued, “You’re honestly telling me you’re going to go back to vag after having that Niall Horan D for this long? No way.”

“What the fuck?” Kat sputtered, not able to get out a better response. 

Eric shrugged, unapologetic. “Sorry, just callin’ it like I see it. How anyone could want vagina when there’s dick on the menu has always been a mystery to me anyway. Vaginas are just so … ew.”

“Um, hello, even if I did not, in fact, like girls sexually -- which, newsflash, you idiot, I do even though I’m currently dating a man -- I happen to _have_ a vagina, so that’s super rude. How come I didn’t realize you were such an asshole about bisexuality before?”

“Oh stop, I am not.”

“You are.” She looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time, genuinely shocked by what was coming out of his mouth. “Since we’ve been friends, I’ve dated both guys and girls, so according to your theory, I just wasn’t getting dicked good enough?”

“First off, ‘dated’ is a bit strong; I’d say banged,” Eric said, cocking his head. Kat hit his arm. “Oh c’mon, that was a joke.”

“You don’t get to make jokes whilst being a total twat to me, Eric.”

“And you don’t get to use words like ‘whilst’ and ‘twat’, _whilst_ still being an American, Madonna.”

Kat cracked a smile at that, she couldn’t help it. “Sorry, I clearly spend too much time around people who speak non-American English. But you can’t joke your way out of this, bub.”

“But that’s how you and I deal, Kat. Sarcasm is our love language. Seriously though, I don’t have a bad opinion about bisexuals in general. I really don’t, I swear. I guess … I, maybe, probably … um, I _kinda_ thought that dating girls was just a phase for you, just a way to rebel against your town-from- _Footloose_ background? But that’s not fair and not any of my business anyway. So I’m sorry. Do you still love me?”

“Of course,” she said, and pulled him into a hug. “And, for the record, we were allowed to dance in my hometown, buddy. Maybe not well and not to a beat exactly, but we could dance -- we had prom and school dances and everything. So we weren't full-on _Footloose_. Solid reference, though.”

“Thought you’d like that,” he said, and clinked his drink with hers. “Since we’re talking about sexuality, since you started dating that Irish kid, I’ve been looking into One Direction as a whole and there are, like, a lot -- I mean, a lot, a lot -- of rumors that most, if not all, of the boys are gay or bi. And that some of them are dating each other, even? Or at least hooking up?”

“I’m not gossiping about the guys’ sex lives, Eric, c’mon.”

“Just tell me if any of them have hooked up. Like, has Niall kissed any of them?”

“Shut up, E, seriously.” Kat took a big gulp of her drink, mainly to hide any truth that might be revealed in her expression.

“The look on your face right now tells me you know. I knew at least two of those boys were gay, although honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if all of them were. Or at least bisexual, in Niall’s case.”

“Oh, so now bisexuality is real?”

*

Niall collapsed backwards, breathing heavy.

“Christ, no one would ever know ya hadn’t done this until a couple months ago. You’re amazin’.”

Kat wiped her lower lip delicately, sitting back on her heels, task complete. “While I appreciate the compliment, the reason I’m probably so good at it is that you’ve taught me exactly how you like it. Maybe another guy would hate my blow jobs.” She shrugged, unconcerned either way, although she certainly appreciated his compliment.

Niall’s head popped up so he could see her, his eyes narrowed. “No other guys are gettin’ your blow jobs though, now are they?”

“Nope, just you,” she reassured him, patting his knees as she stood up. He snatched one of her hands and pulled her down on top of him, giving her a soft kiss. 

Niall had been in Lincoln for less than an hour and she’d driven him straight to her apartment so she could properly welcome him. He’d already been in the States as he acted as a golf caddy for his friend and pro golfer Rory McIlroy during a contest just prior to the Masters, and management had decided to take advantage of it, sending him on to Kat for a week after he was done. 

And then she was flying back with him, to go to a charity ball with him (red carpet and all, gulp) in London. 

When Kat had found out that they’d be spending so much time together, she was delighted, but when she was talking with Niall on the phone about it, she, naturally, covered it up with sarcasm, “Sheesh, they’re really amping it up here at the end, huh? Wanna get their money’s worth out of me, I guess.”

“Lucky me, to get to have ya around so much,” Niall had replied, making her kinda feel like an ass for making a joke about it. 

But she was fairly certain a good _I’m glad to see you so much too_ blowjob made up for it.

After they’d sufficiently, uh, reacquainted themselves, they got ready and went to Kat’s parent’s house, to spend the afternoon and have dinner with her family. 

When they walked into the living room, as she would have guessed, Kat saw that her dad had the Masters on the flat screen. 

Niall noticed as well. “Aw, c’mon, have at it,” he said to her dad as they shook hands, Niall tilting his chin up at the tv. 

“What’s that?” Mike asked, a wide grin on his face.

“I’m sure Kat told ya not to, but you can give me sh-- I mean, you can tease me about the whole fallin’ on me face on TV thing. I can take it.” Niall, the poor dear, had slipped and fallen on some pine needles while he was holding Rory’s bag. Which wasn’t really that big of a deal, but of course it was televised as it had happened during an interview. So it was immediately spread far and wide on the internet and every sports show, so even someone like her dad had to have seen it.

Her dad burst into laughter. “Well, if you’re going to ask me to do, that completely sucks the fun out of it. Was a good way, though, to ensure that I never ask you to help Kat move or anything like that. Or at least not move any breakables.” He threw his arm lightly around Niall’s shoulder. “Honestly, though, not really sure why anyone is making a stink about it. So you fell? Big fucking deal.”

“Dad!” Kat squealed, not really able to recall the last time she’d heard him swear.

“Sorry for the language, but Jesus mouse, people get up in arms about nothing these days, I don’t get it. But I’m old, so what do I know, right, Kat?”

“No way, you’re the coolest old guy I know, Daddums.”

“Thanks, princess.”

Kat’s mom just shook her head at all of them, then ushered Kat and Niall into the kitchen for some drinks, bustling ahead of them to get glasses out of the cupboard. Her dad resumed his position on his recliner, which is likely where he’d stay the entire day.

Niall waited until her dad was out of earshot before whispering to Kat, all but giggling as he asked, “Jesus mouse?”

“Yeah, that’s classic Dad. We’re Methodist, so we’re fairly casual about our blasphemy,” she said with a shrug.

“I might start using it meself.”

Kat laughed. “I’d love it if that really happened. Use it in an interview, maybe it’ll start sweeping the world.”

“Could easily see it trendin’ on Twitter.”

Kat’s mom returned, drinks in hand and they all went back to the living room to watch some golf and chat. 

At a commercial break, Kat asked her dad, “Hey, do you think I could borrow the keys and take Niall over to the school? Thought we could get in a quick workout -- we both brought clothes -- and I could show him around the place.” Since her dad was a coach at the high school he had keys to both the gyms there as well as the weight room and Kat often took advantage of that to workout in college when she couldn’t run outside due to the harsh Nebraska weather. She’d always proven trustworthy so he rarely bothered to accompany her, unless he already had work to catch up on himself.

“Sure,” he said, pushing up from his chair, “let me just go grab the keys. Kat, you come with so I can show you which one’s different.”

When her dad handed her over the keys in his home office, he pointed out the new key for the weight room that they had rekeyed over the summer and reminded her to turn all the lights off and double check that she locked everything, as well as about some of the latest gossip that had been going around the school. Which he knew she loved to hear. The female teachers always got a bad rap for gossiping all the time, but in Kat’s experience, it was always the older male coaches and teachers that were the biggest talkers. 

After they’d gotten changed into their workout clothes, Niall and Kat headed to the school. She showed him her parents’ classrooms, her locker from senior year, all the sights, before leading him towards the main school gymnasium, where she’d played volleyball and basketball in high school. 

“Did ya hear somethin’?” Niall asked, looking around.

“Just old building noises, I think. We’re completely alone, actually -- like, in the entire place. Everyone thinks they’re fumigating right now -- they were supposed to be doing it right now but the company got a bit delayed. My dad’s the only one that knows about it as he’s going to let them in the building. They won’t be here for a couple of hours though.”

“Interest--,” Niall began, then cut himself off, looking into a trophy case. “Hey, your name is on that!”

Kat peered over his shoulder, looking at the large plaque with smaller, engraved individual plates with names and years on them. The one he was looking at was for most assists in a basketball season, but Kat knew her name appeared on several different awards in there. 

“Yeah, it’s no Brit but it’s something. That is, until some other kid breaks my records.”

“Hey, no talkin’ yourself down. And regardless, it’s somethin’ ya did all on your own, that’s pretty impressive.”

“You’re sweet, Niall,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before taking his hand and pulling him towards the gym. “And here’s where all the magic happened.”

He laughed and said, “Ya realize that’s what they say on Cribs about their bedrooms, right? Or are ya sayin’ the magic literally happened in here? Like, with your high school boyfriend?”

Kat gave him a quick shove. “God, like I had sex with him here, you mean? No, no sex for me at school, thank you very much. My parents both work here, in case you don’t remember, so I wasn’t about to try to get frisky where they could catch me. That’s what cars and basements were for.”

They walked hand in hand to the center of the gym, Niall looking around at everything, taking it all in. Kat watched him, trying to see it through his eyes. It wasn’t big or much to look at, really, but she had such great memories from the place that she hoped he didn’t make a joke or anything. 

“Can just imagine ya in here, dominatin’ everyone that crossed your path,” Niall said, pulling her in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“I really wasn’t that great,” Kat said, “I just worked hard and had some teammates that were big scorers, so I just had to get them the ball. I loved it though.”

“I can tell.” Niall smiled down at her, then kissed her. 

Kat felt like they were in some high school rom com, where the dorky girl had just landed the cool popular guy, and this was the final scene, with their first, big kiss happening right there on the basketball half court line. 

But their kiss quickly drifted into the PG-13 range, then bumped up into R territory when Niall pulled down the scoop neck of her tank top, pushing her breast up and out of her sports bra, taking her nipple into his mouth. 

She was lost in his touch, rolling her head back but when she opened her eyes, it all came rushing back to her -- exactly where they were and what they were doing. She pulled back from Niall, automatically going to pull her top up.

Niall stopped her, moving her hand away and dragging her back into him, kissing her neck before he spoke, “Kat, ya said yourself there’s no one here. Somethin’ about it’s really hot, hookin’ up here, why don’t we just … ?”

“Fuck here on midcourt?” Kat finished for him when he trailed off, clearly more intent on having his mouth on her skin. Niall’s teeth dragging over her neck indicated that was exactly what he was asking, so Kat took a very distracted moment to think it over. It was hot, wasn’t it?

Kat hesitantly agreed, “It’ll have to be quick. And quiet. I know no one should be coming in but …” 

“Sure sure, that makes sense,” Niall agreed, not wasting a single moment as he began moving them both onto the ground, settling himself carefully on top of her.

Between kisses, while adjusting herself underneath Niall to be as comfy as she could on a hardwood floor, Kat tried to explain, “I mean, we’re in the middle of a very large building that roughly two hundred people have a key to, so… yeah.”

Niall pulled his head up, eyes twinkling. “Makes it all the hotter though, don’t it?”

“It kinda does.”

Niall moved to pull her shorts down and off, but Kat stopped him. “They’re short enough, we should be able to just push them to the side. I’d really rather not be pantless in the off chance we do get caught. I mean, it’s going to be horrible enough if that happens, but I’m literally going to die if the janitor sees my ass, you know? The man’s known me since I was five.”

Niall laughed and nodded, moving the fabric over as he stroked her center, watching her face while he did so. She tried to maintain eye contact but it just felt so good that she tipped her head back, her eyes screwed shut in pleasure. 

Niall’s fingers left her and she looked down to see him pulling a condom out of his pocket -- she just raised her eyebrows at that; he’d clearly hoped something like this might happen -- before shoving down the front of his shorts, his dick popping free. Kat helped him get the condom on and then he was pushing into her, with the fabric of her shorts rubbing against her clit as he pumped in and out of her.

He moved her tank top up so it was caught just under her arms, so he could mouth at her breasts still peeking out of the top of her sports bra. Which she was definitely in favor of. 

Without the protection of her shirt, however, her back rubbed somewhat painfully against the highly polished wood of the gym floor, the knobs of her spine pushed out from how she was curling her torso towards him. but she didn’t care enough to try to stop it, not when Niall was fucking into her so expertly, with a look on his face that was mesmerizing. He was looking at her like she was the only other person on earth. Like she was the only thing that mattered. 

She was so focused on Niall that her orgasm caught her entirely off guard when it happened, Niall following quickly behind. They lay there for a minute, Niall collapsed on top of her, both of them panting, before sense returned and Niall pushed himself up, pulling Kat up after him. They both righted their clothing, Niall tying the condom off and putting it into his pocket after making a quick face at Kat about the grossness of it. 

Kat clapped her hands together and darted away from Niall, jogging backwards. “So, all ready for that workout now or what?”

*

Later that week, they were packing for their trip to London the next morning, chatting while they did so. Kat loved the easy domesticity of it, like they lived together and were going on a trip. It was seductive, to say the least.

Niall was packed before she was, not surprisingly as he’d only had a couple of bags with him, but he still kept her company, sitting on the edge of her bed as she continued to move about the room. She grabbed her running shoes and placed them towards the bottom of her bag, after double checking that the soles were clean. 

“How’s everythin’ goin’ for ya? Like with the eatin’ and workin’ out stuff, I mean?” Niall asked, tipping his head towards her shoes.

She shrugged, pulling some socks out of her drawer. “It’s, like, a day to day thing. This is such a cliché, I know, but I have good days and bad days. It can be tough, though, because you can’t always trust yourself -- I have to constantly be questioning myself about my eating, like, did you really skip breakfast because you were running late or did you not want to eat? Y’know, stuff like that. So it’s hard.”

“Fuck, that would be hard,” he agreed with a frown, playing with his bottom lip with his hand.

“And not to belittle things like alcoholism or drug addiction because God knows they’re devastating from what I’ve heard, but at least with those types of addictions, you can totally avoid those things, just completely stay away from bars or parties or whatever, at least when you’re having a period where you’re really struggling with it. I mean, alcohol’s harder to keep away from entirely but it’s doable, I would think. But with food, you have to eat to live. So no hiding from the problem. it’s fucked up. And it’s constant.”

“Well, I’m here if ya ever need to talk.”

She gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks, that really means a lot. You’ve been a great help, seriously.” She smiled down at him, then surveyed the contents of her bag. “I think that’s all I can pack tonight. It’s pajama time, I guess.”

“Or no pajama time, would be my alternative suggestion,” Niall said, smirking. With a laugh, Kat pulled off her t-shirt and unhooked her bra, turning to throw them into her dirty clothes hamper. 

“Jaysus, what happened to your back?”

“What?” Kat asked, fruitlessly trying to crane her neck so she could see where he was looking, before she realized what he was referring to. On her spine, the skin was rubbed off on several vertebrae and each spot had since scabbed over, looking way worse than it felt. “Oh. That. That’s from our gym floor adventure the other day.”

“You’re shittin’ me,” Niall said in disbelief. 

“I’m not. Guess you railed me a bit too good,” Kat joked.

Niall was silent for a beat, his face darkening. “Kat, I’m so sorry. Ya shoulda said something, ya coulda been on top.”

She shrugged, then teased him, “Was having way too much fun to notice, really. Don’t worry about it -- I can’t even feel it now.”

“Can’t believe I hurt ya like that, I …”

“Niall, you didn’t hurt me. I mean, it wasn’t you, it was just…”

“But it was me, I shoulda known. If I hadn’t been so focused on just fuckin’ ya...”

“Niall, babe, that was all I was focused on, so yeah, that’s all you should have been thinking about. Doesn’t make you selfish or whatever it is you’ve got in your head about how you messed up. Sex-related injuries happen. It’s a bummer, but they do. And I’m fine. Beyond fine. That was some of the hottest sex I’ve ever had, so, yeah, it was totally worth it.”

“But if you’d been on top --” 

Kat cut him off. “Then your back would have looked like this. Apparently fucking on a highly polished wood floor isn’t the best thing for skin, who knew?” She crawled onto his lap, clad only in her underwear. “But given that you feel so bad, I have a way you can make it up to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to any of you still sticking around; apologies once again for the long delay. Life got super busy and I had some writer's block, which is a very bad combo. 
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> [Story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	36. Chapter 36

Since Kat and Niall had started sleeping together, they’d had sex in several foreign countries, as well as in Kat’s apartment when he had visited. But never at Niall’s house, as the band had mostly been on tour, or, if Niall had actually been in the UK, Kat had been back home. 

That all changed when Kat was sent to London the second week of April to attend the Great Gatsby charity ball with Niall. They christened roughly every room in his house within 24 hours of her arriving into London.

Even Obama got quite a show. 

Her favorite spot, though, was simply lounging in Niall’s bed for hours, the stereo on while they chatted about nothing (although, obvs, the sex was amazing there too). It was hard to believe how much had changed over the last year -- she never would have imagined herself cuddled up there, wearing one of his old t-shirts, listening to Snow Patrol’s “Crack the Shutters” while Niall Horan played with her hair. Life was strange.

“Are you absolutely sure we have to go to this thing?” she teased, knowing there was pretty much no chance of getting out of it. She’d already picked out her dress (well, she’d picked one out of the dozen or so they’d sent over to Niall’s house for her) and a hair and makeup team were scheduled for the next day, so she was mostly joking. Although she wouldn’t pass up an out if it was offered to her. The thought of walking the red carpet with him, of having to take posed photos together, filled her with a feeling of dread. 

“It won’t be that bad, I promise. Liam and Louis will be there too, so that’s good, right?”

Kat sighed. “I guess. And no Eleanor, so Lou will probably be in a great mood.”

“Yeah, he’s been pretty fuckin’ happy since he got rid of her.”

“Soon you’ll be free of your own beard too, Ni,” Kat joked, looking at her hand resting on his chest instead of making eye contact with him. They hadn’t really spoken about how little time together they had left but Kat felt like she had to at least acknowledge the fact that she was flying out two days after the ball, and with nothing else scheduled with her and Niall after that point, she was assuming her contract was just going to be allowed to run out unceremoniously. 

When Marnie had called her a week ago to confirm plans for the trip and the ball, Kat had finally swallowed her pride and asked if it was possible her contract might be extended. 

To which Marnie had said that there wasn’t a chance, as Niall had out-and-out refused.

Which. Ouch.

Marnie had went on to say that Modest! had agreed with him, as they’d gotten a lot of good press and mileage out of Kat and Niall’s relationship, and that there wasn’t much need for a distraction currently. 

And Kat wasn’t _really_ surprised and she didn’t _really_ blame Niall or anything. A sham, publicity relationship was never something he’d wanted. But, still, it hurt. Maybe she wouldn’t have done it anyway as she had a real job lined up now, but it would have been nice to have at least been asked. Would have been nice if Niall had wanted to keep her around. 

“You’re not a beard, Kat. You’re, at most, like, a mustache or somethin’,” Niall said, bringing her back to the present. 

“And you’re an idiot,” Kat declared, then gave his nipple a slight twist. He yelped and grabbed her wrist, moving quickly to flip her onto her back as he hovered over her, pinning her hands beside her head so she couldn’t try anything. She continued, unperturbed by his attempts to restrain her, “If I’m any sort of facial hair at all, I’m a sweet fu manchu. Or …”

“I meant like a Selleck-style mustache, not some creeper one,” Niall clarified, before bending his head to nibble at her neck. 

Kat relaxed, no longer ready to fight him. And no longer all that interested in trying to talk about how little time left they had together. “Oh, well, in that case, carry on…” 

*

Best.

Night.

Ever. 

Kat, never one to like to admit she was wrong, was happy to discover that she had been afraid of absolutely nothing. Turns out that going to a public charity event with your incredibly handsome boyfriend was a good thing. Not something scary at all. Who knew?

The red carpet had been terrifying, no question about it, but she’d had Niall by her side, doing an amazing job of taking care of her and making her as comfortable as possible. And she hadn’t had to have nearly as many pictures taken of her as Niall had -- after they’d gotten a million shots of Kat and Niall together, they’d made Niall pose with Lou and Liam for a million more, while Sophia and Kat laughed at them from a safe distance away. They were both called back over though for an entire group shot, with Kat and Sophia bookending the One Direction men. They were all such professionals about it that it was almost fun.

I mean, it really wasn’t all _that_ different than getting prom pictures taken, when it came down to it. 

Sophia was lovely in a blush-colored beaded lace dress, which coordinated nicely with Liam’s light blue suit that he wore with an open necked white button down shirt. Louis wore yet another perfectly fitted suit, this time in black, with a white tie and fun period-appropriate black and white shoes. He looked all kinds of hot, and Kat told him so.

But, really, Kat only had eyes for Niall. She honestly hadn’t been all that sure about what he’d planned to wear when he described it to her, but he looked perfect. He wore a white tuxedo jacket and white bow tie with black tux pants and … it just worked on him. To top the look off, he’d worn his hair up like Louis often did and it was the first time Kat had seen Niall with his own quiff. 

She liked it. A lot.

Kat felt so proud to be by his side; he looked so handsome and while she tried to keep herself from constantly gazing at him adoringly, she was sure she failed. 

She didn’t really even care, though, as she was having the best time. Niall kept looking at her like she was the prettiest girl in the room, which was decidedly not the case.

Not that she wasn’t feeling confident. She was. Having one’s makeup and hair done by professionals and wearing a fantastic dress will do that to a person. She knew she looked her best, in the long, beaded, golden gown that she wore. It had little cap sleeves and a slight mermaid shape, very 1920s inspired. She loved it. And Niall agreed, growling and kissing her neck when she finally revealed her finished self. They barely got out of the house, honestly.

But, shockingly, Kat was actually glad they did. They mingled. And had some drinks. And ate a pretty decent meal (for a mass catered event like this, anyway). There was the promise of some dancing later. 

It felt like a real date, like she was really Niall’s girlfriend and she was there, by his side to support him. 

It felt amazing. She felt like a motherfucking princess.

Several of Niall’s non-bandmate friends were there too: Greg, Eoghan, and Fintan from the LIC that Kat had met before, Nicky Conlan and David Soutar that she hadn’t. It was always fun to be around Niall and his friends, as they all teased and mocked him terribly. Which was so much fun for Kat.

Probably less so to Niall, although he took it well. And certainly gave as good he got. As the night went on and her comfort level grew, after pressing a quick kiss to her cheek and ensuring she was fine, Niall left Kat with his friends when he went to talk to the event’s organizers with Liam and Louis.

Kat was fully entertained by the company. Time flew as each of the guys tried to one up each other with embarrassing Niall stories and she was living for it. Later, she was immersed in a deep conversation with Greg about space when they were interrupted by Fintan, who was slightly inebriated and hilarious. After laughing with them for a few minutes, Kat set her drink down and excused herself, wanting to touch up her gorgeous makeup and use the toilet while she was there. 

When she got back, though, she was going to find Niall, the busy man, and whisper naughty things into his ear until he agreed to take her home already. She had big plans for him and that tux.

As Kat wound down the hallway to the bathroom, her mind a million miles away, she glanced into one of the unused rooms as she passed by, something catching her eye.

And she saw Sophia. More precisely, Sophia and Niall. Her hands in his hair, his mouth on hers. 

Kat stood frozen for a second, long enough to see that it wasn’t just a brief friendly kiss, or merely Sophia trying to kiss him and him not returning it, then Kat turned and ran.

And ran.

And ran, bursting through the back door, bending over at the waist and throwing up, all the alcohol that had been sitting happily in her stomach moments ago erupting all over some poor unsuspecting hosta plant. When she was done, she collapsed to her knees, narrowly avoiding landing in her own sick.

She swiped the back of her hand across her mouth, then used her fingers to ineffectually dab at the tears streaming down her face. Although she’d just completely emptied her guts onto the lawn, she still felt sick to her stomach. It would have hurt to see him with anyone, she knew that, but to see him with _Sophia_ of all people. Niall knew that Kat expected fidelity from him, she’d been perfectly clear about that, and to kiss Sophia -- when he knew how she’d treated Kat early on and how insecure Kat felt around her -- felt like the ultimate betrayal. 

Kat was trying desperately to stop her tears and get herself together when the door banged open behind her. Not turning around to see who it was, she attempted to play off her impairment. “Yeah, I wouldn’t come over here. I may have drank a little too much and my stomach staged a revolt.”

“Kat, Jesus, are you okay?” Liam crouched down next to her, ignoring her caution. “I saw ya take off, then saw Ni and Soph. I’m so sorry.” 

“Did, ah, did Niall see you see them? You didn’t say anything, did you?” That was exactly what she didn’t need, Niall coming outside and seeing the utter mess she was. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. 

“No, I didn’t stick around, I wanted to get to you as quick as I could, to make sure you were fine. Which of course you aren’t. C’mere.” Like she weighed nothing, Liam scooped her up in his arms and walked them both away from where she’d been sick, probably as much for his own benefit as hers. He sat down on a patio chair, settling her on his lap, her cheek pressed onto his shoulder. His kindness only made her sob all the harder.

Once she’d calmed down and caught her breath somewhat, words starting pouring out of her. “I just don’t understand, I’m gone forever in, like, two weeks, why couldn’t he have just waited? They can bang non-stop, night and day, when we’re not together anymore, I just don’t get it.” Despite her words, tears rolled down her face at the thought of the two of them together again.

Liam ran a comforting hand over her hair, tucking a wayward strand behind her ear. “Kat, love, maybe it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“I appreciate that you’re sticking up for your boy, but you and I both know that was exactly what it looked like. I just … I don’t think I was asking for too much, was I? I mean, he just had to not be with anyone else for a couple of months while we were together, that shouldn’t be that hard. I know it’s not what he’s used to but he should have never agreed to it then. Fuck, this hurts so much.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Liam continuing to try to cuddle her better, rubbing warm circles over her back. It was nice and Liam was the sweetest but it didn’t really help much.

“Do you think you could just take me home, like now? And I mean, like, home with you. I know it’s shitty for you to leave Sophia but Niall can get her home.” She tried and failed to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “Or I could see if Lou could take me if you can’t. Or Gemma maybe? I’m just kind of on my own here without Niall. And you guys, of course. Even if I got a cab, I don’t know where I’d go, all my stuff is at Niall’s.”

“Of course you can come with me. Soph’s a big girl, she can take care of herself. I’ll get Paddy to bring the car around, I’m sure we can sneak out of here so no one catches us leaving without our dates.” He shifted Kat over to her own seat before taking out his phone and starting a text. 

She leaned wearily against his shoulder, not feeling capable of sitting fully upright. “I’m sure that would be a huge scandal, you and I leaving together, which I so don’t want. I’m almost done with the whole thing, that’s the last thing I need.” Even as she said it, Kat knew that the real last thing she needed was Niall cheating on her but that ship had apparently already sailed. Kat tried to focus on the present dilemma of getting out of there as soon as possible rather than Niall’s betrayal. At least she could do something about the former, the latter was over and done with. Or still happening, whatever. Point was there was nothing to be done for it.

Thinking about that made her want to leave, like, immediately. She just couldn’t see Niall right now, she couldn’t. Kat turned her face towards Liam, although not so close that her puke breath would fog on him. She’d need to find her purse -- she must have dropped it when she bolted out of there? -- and get a mint before she killed someone. “Hey, I’m going to go to the ladies room on the first floor. Do you want to just come grab me when you’re ready to go? It’ll be soon, right?”

“Yeah, Paddy said to give him five and a car’ll be around the side. Let me walk you in there though.”

“Is it totally obvious that I’ve both barfed and hysterically cried in the last 10 minutes?” Kat asked, not caring all that much but not wanting to get stared at if she could help it. 

Liam looked at her carefully. “Well, you’re good on the puking thing but the crying is fairly clear if anyone looks closely at all.”

“I’ll just stare at the ground and let my hair fall in front of my face, it’s fine. Let’s go right now, ‘kay?”

Liam safely escorted her to a back bathroom before leaving to check on the car situation and promising to find her purse. Kat locked herself into one of the stalls immediately, refusing to chance a look at herself in the mirror. Balancing on the edge of the toilet in her elegant gown, Kat tried to focus on her breathing and not let herself think about what she had seen, which was much easier said than done. 

What felt like a million years later, Liam gave their prearranged knock on the bathroom door and Kat tentatively creeped out of the stall, stopping to rinse her mouth out quickly. Standing up, her reflection stared back at her, her mascara and eye makeup irreparably smudged beneath her eyes and a look of utter devastation on her face. 

So she pretty much looked as bad as she felt.

Tucked safely under Liam’s arm, Kat was quickly ushered into a quiet vehicle, Liam carefully setting her purse on her lap so she’d have it close. As she didn’t want to speak to Paddy, Kat kept her head down until a loud noise caused her to instinctively look towards the source.

Through the veil of her hair, Kat saw Niall bursting out the door of the building, but then Liam closed the door behind her and she was safe. Kat hid her face in her hands as she saw Liam head over to talk to him but she couldn’t resist peeking a few times as she was a total masochist. 

Niall’s previously slicked back hair that she’d so loved was mussed from Sophia’s fingers, strands falling over his brow as his conversation with Liam became more and more agitated. Kat’s heart rate accelerated when she saw Niall move to get around Liam but, Liam, being the great friend to her that he was, stepped in front of him, shaking his head and no doubt warning him off with his words. Liam put his hands on Niall’s chest, saying something to him before pushing him back, gently but firmly. Once it seemed clear that Niall understood not to follow him, Liam turned and got into the car next to Kat. 

Although she tried not to, Kat looked across Liam to where Niall was still standing, and their gazes locked together. She gasped when she saw how wrecked he looked, his hands in his hair, pulling it with frustration. Kat felt herself momentarily soften as she watched him, even knowing that he could simply be upset because he got caught. 

But any goodwill she was starting to feel towards him disappeared as the door opened behind him. Sophia, her perfect red lipstick smudged, stepped outside and approached where Niall was standing, a guilty look on her face. 

Knowing that she couldn’t take anything further, Kat dropped her head before she could see any more, the image of the two of them, standing there together, already seared in her brain without another look. 

*

When they got to Liam and Zayn’s, Liam went and grabbed her a spare toothbrush and shirt and shorts to sleep in, which she slipped on in their guest bath before brushing her teeth and splashing some water on her tear stained cheeks. When she left the bathroom, she went in search of Liam, not wanting to be alone. He apparently anticipated that and was waiting for her in the living room, grabbing her hand and leading her towards their bedroom.

Zayn was fast asleep on one side of their enormous bed, stirring when Liam pulled back the covers so Kat could slip under the sheets. Zayn woke up when Kat got in next to him, mumbling a sleepy “what’s wrong, love?” when he saw her face. Kat got out a strangled, “you got your nose pierced!” before she broke down in tears again. Zayn pulled her into his chest, hugging her close. She heard Liam respond quietly, “I’ll tell you about it later” to Zayn’s unvoiced question and felt herself being snuggled on both sides as she cried herself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, sorry about the cliff hanger? Will try to get the next chapter out soon so you won't be hangin' for long! Thanks for sticking around!
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
>  [Story rec post](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/post/156491763889/fools-gold-niallofc-but-lots-of-side-larry)  
>    
> Thank you to my beta [Daniella](http://dreamingg-outtloudd.tumblr.com/)!


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter for you!

“This is cozy.”

Certain she was dreaming -- or having a nightmare, more accurately -- as the voice sounded so much like Niall, Kat lifted her cheek off Liam’s chest and turned her head. 

And found Niall standing at the foot of Liam and Zayn’s bed, staring at her, anger rolling off him in waves. She blinked her eyes, hard, trying to ensure that this wasn’t some sort of sadness-induced hallucination, then looked over at the bedside clock to see that it was all of 7:30. 

So, yeah, this couldn’t be real.

But when she turned her eyes back to where Niall had been in her day-mare, he was still there. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Kat stopped him, holding a finger up in front of her mouth as she shot him a dirty look. Zayn snuffled in his sleep from his position behind her, curled around her back, and Liam was still fast asleep as well. 

As carefully as she possibly could, she extricated herself from in between them, crawling inelegantly to the side of the bed, where Niall held his hand out to help. She ignored it and got herself down with a quiet thump. Her eyes darted back to where Ziam lay sleeping but thankfully, she hadn’t woken them. 

She walked out of the room, not particularly caring if Niall was following her but figuring he was when she heard the bedroom door close quietly a moment later (plus, what was he going to do? Stand there and stare at the two beautiful sleeping boys? She wouldn’t blame him if he did but she really didn’t think that was why he was there). Stalking into the kitchen, she pulled open cabinet doors aggressively until she found the glasses and grabbed one out for herself. The silence was deafening as she opened the refrigerator and grabbed out a water pitcher, pouring herself a glass and draining half of it, all the while never acknowledging Niall’s presence. 

As she was out of pissy things to do, Kat leaned back against the counter and finally fixed her eyes onto Niall, who she was happy to note, looked like absolute shit. She was certain she did as well but at least she wasn’t alone.

Niall opened his mouth but nothing came out. Ducking his head down, he muttered something to himself, rubbing the back of his head, before looking up again and repeating the process all over again. He couldn’t seem to put any words together to say to her.

Kat was exhausted. And heartbroken. And nauseous. So she had a very very tiny grip on her emotions that was loosening by the second. 

She suddenly remembered what he’d said a couple of minutes ago to wake her up, or more importantly, how he said it and lost that small hold. “I seriously can’t believe you were just giving me attitude about sleeping with Liam and Zayn. All we were doing was cuddling but I could have fucking let them double team me and you couldn’t say shit about it, you asshole.”

Niall’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Oh, I couldn’t, could I? I --”

Kat cut him off with a wave of her hand, already in motion. “I don’t want to hear it. Let’s go back to your house,” she commanded, very deliberately not saying ‘home’ like she usually did, “I don’t want to wake the guys up and I really, _really_ need a run right now.”

“Kat, ya shouldn’t run just ‘cause you’re upset, ya know that’s not …”

She interrupted him again, all but shouting over him, “You don’t get to criticize my coping methods either, Niall, not right now. In fact, there’s not a lot you can say or do right now, so why don’t you just drive us ho-- to your house and maybe we’ll talk later, if I’m up for it.” 

Wisely, he shut up, walking over to the door and waiting while Kat rounded up her purse and clothes from the night before, writing a quick note to Liam and Zayn to thank them for letting her stay and tell them that she’d be in touch soon.

*

After an exhausting run around the neighborhood and a long, hot shower (she’d never been so glad that she’d continued to keep all her stuff in the guest room), Kat figured she’d put off talking to Niall as long as possible. With a deep breath to brace herself, she opened her bedroom door and went in search of him. 

Not surprisingly, she found him in the kitchen, staring blankly into the fridge as though something in there could save him.

He turned once he realized she was there, shutting the door before leaning back on it. “Hey,” he said, voice careful. 

“Hey,” Kat returned, not really certain how to start this whole thing. 

“Are you hungry? I could make somethin’? Or we could get delivery?”

“Yeah, not so much,” Kat began, then paused, recognizing that she needed to eat. Even if she hadn’t realized it herself, the stricken look on Niall’s face would have clued her in; he obviously wanted to argue with her but remembered how well that had worked out for him last time and was wisely biting his tongue. She sighed. “Yeah, why don’t you order us something, like, a pizza maybe? Does that work for you?”

“Course, that sounds grand,” Niall agreed, nodding vigorously. Kat doubted he was that enthused about the food choice, more that she was speaking to him and even asking his opinion. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, hand going up to his mouth as he chewed his nails while it rang. He covered the bottom of his phone and moved it away, asking Kat, “Same as usual?”

Kat nodded, looking away from him. She busied herself flipping through the stack of mail Niall had left on the kitchen counter while he placed their order, not really noting what any of it was but wanting to stay occupied. She realized the fact that the mail was lying there at all was an indication of how well Niall wasn’t doing -- he usually immediately sorted and dealt with his mail when he got it in. This whole thing was clearly doing a number on his head as well. 

Lost in her thoughts, it took Kat a minute to realize that Niall was done with his call and was watching her. When she finally looked up at him, he pulled his hand away from his mouth, crossing his arms and tucking his fists under his armpits defensively. 

Apparently this was happening. 

Now. 

Kat leaned her hip against the counter, wanting a bit of support. She really had no idea what to say.

Niall didn’t seem to be having the same problem. “She kissed me, Kat, it’s not my fault!”

Kat raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. “Is that the story you’re going with?”

He had the nerve to look offended, his chin jerking back. “It’s not a story, it’s what happened.”

“I stood there for a bit, Niall. I wasn’t going to have it be like one of those sitcom-type things where she kissed you and you pushed her away immediately but I didn’t stick around long enough to see it,” Kat said, proud of how calm she kept her voice. Sure, it was a bit shaky, but hopefully Niall, being as worked up as he already was, wouldn’t notice. “So if your version of events truly happened, if you told her you weren’t interested, it was only after you kissed her back for quite a while. I mean, fuck, Liam saw you guys too and he didn’t look into the room until a minute or so later. Were you too polite to say, ‘oh hey, Sophia, sorry but I’m sleeping with Kat and we’re not hooking up with other people while we’re together, so maybe give me a call in a month or so’? The thing is, Niall, I know you. So I know you’re not that fucking polite.”

Well, maybe not quite that calm, particularly towards the end of her speech. Still, she wasn’t shouting, so she counted it as a victory.

“Maybe I did kiss her back for a bit, like muscle memory or whatever. I don’t know,” Niall conceded. 

Kat waited, trying very hard not to roll her eyes or make any other facial expression that would give away just how implausible she found his latest excuse. They stood in tense silence for a couple of minutes, Kat shifting her gaze to the floor as it hurt to look at him.

“I don’t know, okay? Fuck,” Niall suddenly yelled, startling Kat out of her forced detachment, but he didn’t seem to be yelling _at_ her, just shouting in general. He scrubbed his hands over his face, bending over at the waist. His voice was muffled as he continued, “I don’t fuckin’ know why I did it. At first, I wasn’t thinkin’. That’s the God’s honest truth, she made the move and I just … went along with it. Didn’t think about that I shouldn’t, not really used to sayin’ no. I mean, obviously, like, I say no when it’s someone I’m not interested in in, but with Soph, I mean, I like her well enough and we’ve kissed before so, yeah, normally I’d just kiss her back if she kissed me. But then … there was this moment where I did remember that I shouldn’t be kissin’ her, where I thought about you and what we’d promised each other … and I’m not proud of it, but I still didn’t stop right away.” His admission felt like a gut punch to Kat, largely because she recognized the truth behind it. She’d wanted his honesty but could she actually handle it now that she was getting it?

He stood upright again, his hands now gripped in the sides of his hair. “I guess I just … I was kinda … I just thought, y’know, fuck it, why _shouldn’t_ I kiss someone else? And then I kinda came to me senses and I did finally push her back, ‘cause I know that’s a shit thing to do. I told ya I wouldn’t but I did. And I’m really fuckin’ sorry about that. That’s the fuckin’ truth. I swear.”

Standing there in front of him, with his eyes locked on her, Kat recognized the sincerity in what he had said. He hadn’t kissed Sophia in an attempt to be malicious or cruel. He hadn’t actively _tried_ to hurt Kat. It had just happened. Maybe he was feeling a bit trapped or like things were too serious with her or whatever. It didn’t really matter, she supposed, because the end result had been the same. 

He kissed someone else. Which hurt Kat. Because she only wanted him to kiss her, wanted him to only _want_ to kiss her. 

Which was maybe more than she should expect from her monogamous sex partner.

A moment after _that_ realization, she was suddenly hit with the deep wave of embarrassment about how hurt she was by this whole thing. And her embarrassment was suddenly much much much worse than anything else she was feeling. Seriously, now that she really thought about it, she couldn’t believe how upset she was by what Niall had done. Sure, he wasn’t supposed to be with anyone but her but for God’s sake, she’d said it herself, she was leaving in a month, what was the big fucking deal if he kissed someone else? 

She doubled over, hiding her face, before squatting down, trying to make herself as small as possible in front of him. “Oh my God, can we just be done with this? I’m sorry I freaked out so much; you’re right, you should totally be kissing whoever you want, I was stupid to think you shouldn’t.”

“Jaysus, Kat, no, you weren’t stupid. I don’t think that, not at all. Fuck, I’m the stupid one here. I’m the one who fucked up. And no, I _shouldn’t_ be kissin’ anyone else, that’s not what we agreed to at all.” He placed his hand carefully on her back, tentatively trying to comfort her. She heard his knee crack loudly as he attempted to lower himself to her position, which helped to break the tension. 

Kat chuckled as she stood upright again, pulling him up with her. She dropped his hands as soon as they were standing, taking a small step away from him. “We’re both idiots, then, which we already knew. Let’s quit talking about this. You’ve apologized and I’ve accepted. It’s done. I’m going home tomorrow anyway, no big deal.”

Niall didn’t look as relieved as she’d assumed he’d be that she was letting it go. “But… I didn’t fully apologize. So, let me do that, at least. I really am sorry, Kat. It was a fucked up thing to do. I won’t do anythin’ like that again, I swear.”

Kat joked, a wry smile on her face, “Well, I hope not. You should be able to stay away from temptation for 24 hours, Horan. But regardless, I accept your apology. Thank you.”

Niall’s face was still stricken as his eyes scanned her face. “Ya can’t leave tomorrow, not now. We’ve had such a great run, ya can’t go out like this.”

“I don’t know…” Kat said, knowing it was best for her sanity that she got the hell out of there, as soon as possible. 

But Niall wasn’t having it.

“I’ll change your ticket, you can stay a few more days, can’t ya?”

“I’ll consider it, if you sing it?” Kat asked, with a smile. Niall’s face lit up, although she waved him off when it looked like he was going to fulfill her request. “I was teasing. Sure, I’ll stay, but I need to be back by Tuesday, okay?”

“I can work with that,” Niall said, then carefully put a hand on her shoulder, looking like he was worried he’d spook her. “Thanks, Kat, I really appreciate it. Really appreciate ya givin’ me another chance.”

Normally, Kat would hug him -- or, more accurately, fling herself into his arms -- at this point. But she wasn’t ready for that level of contact with him yet. So she just smiled, so he’d know she’d forgiven him. “Aren’t we way past that,” she asked, her voice slow and serious although she couldn’t quite hide the smile tugging at her lips, “playing hard to get? We did that when we were younger.”

His face split into a huge smile and he couldn’t hold back this time, singing Louis’ lines that followed to her, as he twirled her around the kitchen. When he attempted to tug her in closer, Kat pulled away, patting his chest so it wouldn’t seem as dismissive. “You’d better get my flight moved, bud. And I need to text Becca and my family to let them know.” 

Niall watched her closely, his smile slipping, and she knew he was well aware that she was purposely keeping her distance from him. He nodded, pulling out his phone again. “I’m on it,” he said, then moved around her to leave the kitchen. She felt him hesitate behind her, and she thought he’d say something, but after a moment, he walked away. 

*

They ate their pizza and had a lazy day, watching movies while lounging on Niall’s massive sectional. 

As far apart as humanly possible from each other. 

Like they hadn’t fucked a hundred times before. 

In fact, quite recently on that very sectional. 

Pretty much right where Kat was sitting, now that she thought about it, looking down at the cushion underneath her with a frown. There wasn’t any visible evidence, thankfully. 

If Niall was uncomfortable with their seating arrangement, though, he did a good job of hiding it. He’d been completely respectful of her need for space. Kat caught him in a few instances where he clearly forgot and reached out for her like he would have done before, but he always caught himself before he actually touched her. 

Kat sent a text to Liam and Zayn to make sure they knew everything was okay, that Niall had apologized and they were fine. That she was staying a couple extra days, even. 

Li was clearly pleased with the outcome, if his emoji use was to be trusted, while Zayn seemed a bit more reluctant to believe that all was well, telling Kat that he could come get her at a moment’s notice, she just needed to say the word. 

Which was sweet.

Less sweet, although probably well intentioned, was the apology text that came from Sophia in the afternoon. But Kat knew it was massively unfair of her to forgive Niall but not Sophia, so she responded that she appreciated the apology and that they were cool. 

It was easy to take the high ground when she knew she likely wouldn’t even see Sophia again. Kat’s unease didn’t keep her from falling asleep eventually though, exhaustion from the previous night overtaking her as they watched a mutually agreed upon golf match. 

She awoke to Niall putting a soft blanket over her, then kissing her head. Her eyes popped open when she felt his warm breath through her hair and he froze when he realized he’d been caught. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he murmured, moving away from her. She grabbed his hand before he could get too far.

“Hey, it’s okay. Thanks for the blanket. What time is it?”

“Ten.”

Kat yawned, stretching her stiff body out. Niall’s couch was comfy, but not made for sleeping. Her movements pushed the blanket off her torso, her shirt pulling tightly across her chest. 

Niall eyes were laser locked on her breasts, then he seemed to mentally shake himself and he pulled his gaze away. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake ya,” he whispered. 

“No worries,” Kat replied, smothering a yawn. “‘Spose I should just move this to an actual bed. Hope you weren’t having to creep around because you were worried you’d wake me?” Niall had a shit poker face so she knew he had been. “Sorry.”

He shrugged. “Not a big deal. So, bed?”

Kat suddenly remembered that such a thing as sleeping arrangements was fraught with danger given their current state. She sat up, trying to think everything through.

Niall noticed her hesitation. “Please. Please just sleep in my room. I can’t stomach the thought of you sleepin’ in the guest room like before, all by yourself. I promise I won’t try anythin’. I swear it.”

“I know you wouldn’t, Niall. It’s not that, it’s just…” Kat trailed off, unsure how to explain herself. Sleeping together--or sleeping with Niall, at least--felt so intimate, almost more so than actual sex. 

But he stood there, watching her deliberate, looking so vulnerable yet hopeful that she didn’t have it in her to crush him. It was just sleep, after all. And he had a huge bed so they’d be fine.

*

Kat hadn’t even considered that she might not even be _able_ to sleep.

She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, due mostly to the several hour nap she’d just taken. 

Stupid stupid stupid. 

She tried to be as quiet as possible as she moved, not wanting to disturb Niall. Luckily, he seemed to be deeply asleep as she didn’t hear a peep from his side of the bed. He was several feet away, his back to her as she looked over at him, jealous of his slumber. 

Or maybe not.

“Can ya not sleep ‘cause ya feel like ya let me off too easy? Or is that just me?” Niall’s voice broke through the crushing silence. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling instead of at her. 

“Wha--?” Kat croaked, her voice froggy from disuse. She cleared her throat and tried again, “What are you talking about?”

“I can’t believe how bad I fucked up. Ya can barely even look at me now. Nevermind touch me. And I deserve it, I know I do. But it still fuckin’ sucks.”

“Niall…” Kat started, but he cut her off. Which was just as well because she had no idea what to say.

“No, not tryin’ to blame ya or make ya feel bad. I get it. I hate it, but I get it.”

“I’m not doing anything to punish you, honestly. I just need a bit of time. To, like, get that mental picture of you and Sophia out of my brain.”

Niall scrubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Kat.”

“I know you are, Niall. I really believe that. But I swear that’s not what’s keeping me up. Pretty sure that’s all due to me taking a nap so shortly before bedtime. That’s an amateur move I haven’t made in forever.”

“Wanna watch something, get ya sleepy?” Niall asked as he looked over at her, finally. Before this whole Sophia thing had happened he would no doubt have had a very different solution to tiring her out. But she appreciated his restraint in not offering that option up.

“I don’t need to keep you up too. I can just watch something on my iPad or in the living room or …” 

He interrupted her. “Please stay here. I could use the help gettin’ to sleep as well.”

Kat nodded over at him, her hands tucked under her cheek as she lay facing him. “Sure. What’s a good sleepy movie we should watch?”

Niall rolled onto his side, mirroring her pose, although a large gulf of bedsheets still lay between them. “Dunno. Somethin’ dull, ya reckon?”

“Maybe. Or something we’ve both seen a million times so won’t feel compelled to keep watching once we’re tired.”

“Golf sure seemed to put ya out earlier, can see what’s on the Golf Channel or I’m sure I got some on the DVR?”

“Ooh, good idea. The announcer’s voices are always so soothing.”

A few minutes later, they both laid back on their individual pillows and settled in to watch some golf. 

After about five minutes of feeling awkward as fuck, Kat let out a huff of breath and looked over at Niall, who was intently watching the screen, as though it were the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen.

Which, while Kat liked golf, it sure as hell wasn’t.

She moved over towards him in the bed, which got his attention and after looking at him to be sure it was fine, laid her head on his chest, like they normally did when they watched TV in bed. 

Better. Much better.

*

Kat pushed her hips back, circling against the rigid object pushing at her ass. Eyes still closed, she reached a hand back and slid it into Niall’s boxers, gripping him tightly for a moment before she started to move her hand up and down his length. A quiet groan reverberated against her neck. Using her free hand, she attempted to pull down her own underwear, until Niall, seeing her struggle, helped out, pushing them down her hips with his hand before hooking a foot up and onto the back waistband of her undies, quickly stripping them off her legs. 

And then he pushed her top leg up, his thick fingers sliding against her slit from behind, rubbing light circles on her clit. Already completely desperate for him, she hooked her leg back over his thigh, needing more than just his fingers. Hoping he’d realize that and give her what she needed.

And then his cock was pushing into her as he wrapped his top arm around her waist, pulling her back into him, two spoons slotted together as they rocked together in his bed. She felt his teeth on her neck, lightly dragging against her skin. Then quickly soothing it with his hot tongue and warm, open-mouth kisses as he continued to push in and out of her body at a slow and measured pace. 

And then his hand was back between her legs, two fingers rubbing her clit at the same speed as his hips moved. Which felt too slow for anything to actually happen, for Kat to actually be able to orgasm from, although she was too sleepy and content to demand he do anything different. 

And then, despite her doubts, she was coming, hard, her torso jerking against him as she spasmed around his dick. He gripped onto her hips, hard, and began furiously pounding into her, pushing her onto her stomach so he’d have some resistance to his thrusts, not once fully sliding out of her body.

His hips crashed into her ass, once, twice, three times and then he was coming, with a bitten off shout. A couple of slow kisses on her shoulder and he pulled out, collapsing onto his belly next to her. 

She smiled over at him, eyelids heavy. He returned her grin, looking much the same. His breathing slowed and he reached up to push some hair behind her ear, his thumb rubbing her earlobe for a moment before he dropped his hand back down onto the bed between them.

Her heavy lids were almost closed when she was startled awake again by Niall’s eyes widening dramatically.

“Fuck, Kat, I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

“Huh?”

“I was half asleep, I wasn’t thinkin’, I-- well, you--no, no, I mean--,” Niall stuttered.

Kat finally realized what he was talking about. That’s right. He’d kissed Sophia and Kat was so hurt she hadn’t wanted him to touch her.

Well, apparently her sleep self didn’t have the same reservations.

She put her fingers over his mouth, effectively silencing him. “Niall. It’s fine. I’m pretty sure I started it. Should have known this would happen, we don’t have a great track record with not having sex when we sleep together. But I’m fine with it if you’re fine with it.”

“Course I am, Kat. Can’t imagine ever not wantin’ to have sex with ya, if I’m honest,” Niall said. 

As he spoke, she got a bit distracted by how good he looked and her eyes flicked down to his mouth, then back up to his eyes. Niall’s pupils dilated and his gaze immediately grew hot as he moved closer to her, his hand coming up to gently play with that same unruly strand of hair that refused to stay put behind her ear. He kept his palm on her jaw as he leaned in, placing his lips gently on hers. Pulling back after a brief moment, he looked at her, probably expecting some resistance but whatever he saw on her face had him kissing her again.

And Kat thought, _honestly, fuck it, this whole things over in two days, why the hell not?_

So she decided then and there that a few days of goodbye sex with Niall Horan was probably the best possible plan for her at that moment.

Might as well go down in flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr](http://stephloveslarry.tumblr.com/)


End file.
